All Roads
by Pheonix500
Summary: This is the sequel to Ties that Bind, set three years later. New enemies loom on the horizon and the TMNT and friends must make difficult new alliances to face the fast approaching threat.
1. Introduction

**Introduction:**

 **Disclaimer:** The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles are neither my creation (that honor belongs to Eastman and Laird) nor my property (I think Viacom owns them presently) and I have no intention from profiting from this. It's just for fun. Which is why I am happily turning it loose onto the internet. If anyone wants to use this story and my take on any of these proprietary characters for their own original work, alternate version of events, prequel, sequel, one shots or art, have at it and have fun. I really would like to see what comes of it.

I used the internet to research the many things I lacked knowledge of, but needed to incorporate. While useful, the internet is sadly not reliably accurate, so for those in the know of anything historical, geographic, linguistic, cultural or in all other ways real world fact based, I apologize in advance for any errors.

Also, this work pulls in characters from across the franchise and uses the 2012 Nickelodeon series is the foundation (for seasons 1 through the episode The Deadly Venom in season 3). While familiarity with that particular series or the franchise in general is not necessary to appreciate it will certainly enrich the experience (And also, it's super awesome, you should watch it). Additionally, there really aren't OCs in this story, so most unfamiliar characters can be looked up.

I'd like to thank Myra, author of New Ninja Turtles Adventures (check it out), for her suggestion on one of the primary antagonists and the newest member of the Mutanimals. I will credit in greater detail in the end notes (when I get there) in case of spoilers.

Until further notice, the rating of this (which is equivalent to PG-13 in film) is for violence and language. Normally, I finish writing completely before I publish, but I'm going to try publishing as I go for this piece to see how it works out. As a result, even though I have the plot mapped out, there might be massive revisions to already posted pieces as the story progresses. I was certainly all over the place with writing Ties that Bind, so if that becomes tedious or confusing, I apologize in advance.

I never know if have a reference list for the story arcs is a type of spoiler or not, so just in case, it is spaced out below and you can scroll down to it if you like. There may be revisions to that if, while writing, I determine that there need to be more story arcs or is small ones must be absorbed into larger ones and don't warrant their own. Also, since Ties that Bind is kind of enormous, for anyone that doesn't want to read it, but is still interested in this piece, spaced below the list of story arcs, will be a rough summary of Ties that Bind (set three years prior to All Roads) for anyone that needs it.

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 **Plot Arcs:**

 **Adaptable** – Plot arc for Carter Robinson

 **At Any Cost** – Plot arc for John Bishop and the Earth Defense Force

 **Atonement** – Plot arc for Oroku Saki

 **Balanced** – Plot arc for Hamato Donatello and Venus di Milo

 **Birthright** – Plot arc for Ichiro Gokomodo

 **Curiosity** – Plot arc for Dr. Oscar Chaplin

 **Defiant** – Plot arc for Hamato Michelangelo and Renet Tilley

 **Extinction** – Plot arc for the Triceraton Empire

 **Fierce** – Plot arc for Raphael and Mona Lisa/Lisa Webster

 **Guardians** – Plot arc for the Tribunal and their acolytes

 **Hero Worship** – Plot arc for Zachery and Walter Coleman and Caitlyn Roswell

 **Identity** – Plot arc for Pimiko Mattu/Oroku Pimiko

 **Just** – Plot arc for Hamato Leonardo and Oroku Karai/Hamato Miwa

 **Maturity** – Plot arc for Hazel McIntyre/Radical/Raven Shadowheart

 **On the Run** – Plot arc for Fugitoid/Professor Zayton Honeycutt

 **Players and Pawns** \- Plot arc for Dr. Eric Sacks

 **Professional** – Plot arc for Aditi Mattu/Lotus Blossom

 **Solace** – Plot arc for Hamato Yoshi/Splinter and Tang Amaya/Headhunter

 **Swarm** – Plot arc for the Malignoid Empire (Thanks to Myra for the idea)

 **Teamwork** – Plot arc for the Mighty Mutanimals (Hamato Slash, Leatherhead, Dr. Rockwell, Pigeon Pete, Mokoshan Umeko and Jason Rist/Mondo Gecko)

 **To Seek** – Plot arc for Keno Reyes and Irma Langinstein

 **We Are Family** – Plot arc for the turtles and their family

 **Yin and Yang** – Plot arc for April O'Neil and Casey Jones

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 **Ties that Bind Summary:**

I will try to make this as succinct as possible. So Shenlong and Fenghuang (two figures from Chinese mythology) are exposed for corrupting the Zhou dynasty (which they helped create) by Emperor Qin (who toppled the Zhou dynasty). The Jade Emperor (of the Taoist/Daoist pantheon) cursed them.

Fenghuang was trapped in the lowly form of a fox spirit and was banished from China, becoming Kitsune. Shenlong's soul was trapped in another realm, accessible only through a magic mirror to be guarded by the descendants of Qin's eldest son who were granted the power to manipulate their chi so that they could fulfill this role.

Thus, Shenlong became the Dragonlord and each descendent of Qin, in charge of guarding the mirror, held the title of Chung I, hidden away in a secret monastery where their order protected the world against the Dragonlord's return.

Kitsune never stopped trying to free her lover over the millennia and ultimately influenced Koga Takuza to form the Foot clan, cursed the Kabuto during its creation so that its wearer could become the Dragonlord's vessel and slowly gathered the five elemental mystics from the natural world.

To this end, she was always working in the shadows behind the Foot clan's actions, trying to cultivate a proper vessel for the Dragonlord, sent agents of the Foot clan into China to find and free the Dragonlord and ultimately directed the Foot clan's demise before resurrecting it through Oroku Saki. In collecting the mystics, she acquired Alopex for the Foot clan, while destroying Alopex's home, and acquired Ninjara for the Foot clan by destroying her home and enslaving her people.

The conflict between Oroku Saki, Hamato Yoshi and Tang Shen progresses much as it does in the show, resulting in Shen and Yoshi's daughter, Miwa being stolen by Saki and raised as Karai. Tang Amaya is Tang Shen's twin sister (and the more combat ready, black ops inclined of the two) who is also periodically Saki's lover.

Saki convinces her that Karai is his biological daughter and the Yoshi is responsible for her sister's death, bringing her into the vendetta against him and the Hamato clan. However, the volatile nature of their relationship has Amaya working solo a lot.

Meanwhile, Splinter relocates to NYC after the loss of his family. When he purchases the turtles (biologically related as turtles but each exposed to different human children) and runs into the Kraang and the mutagen, he meets one of Qin's descendants who also buys a baby turtle (from a different set of turtle parents) whom he drops in the mutagen while trying to assist Yoshi (creating Mei Pieh Chi/Venus di Milo).

Unaware of Mei, Splinter flees underground with his turtles and establishes his new home in an abandoned subway station. Finding Splinter gone, Qin takes Mei and raises her as his daughter, even after his brother and sister-in-law die, leaving him to take up the mantle of Chung I and rear his young nephew Da-Huan who will be the next Chung I. Because Mei was exposed to Qin and shares his DNA after the mutation, she also shares in the family's hereditary powers and responsibility.

Also, in antiquity, a Roman soldier comes across a creature of the Null-Time dimension, absorbs its power and enters its dimension, establishing the keepers of time and creating the Scepter of Time.

His apprentice, Lord Simultaneous, is pulled from the middle ages. And Simultaneous' first apprentice (from the Renaissance), Savanti Romero ends up a traitor and an immortal demon, trying to steal the power of the new apprentice (from the Napoleonic era) as well as the scepter.

He ultimately murders the apprentice, Brian Tilley, who through a time jump, ended up in more or less modern New York, but had already transferred his powers to his wife's unborn daughter, much to Savanti's frustrations.

And so Lily (later Renet) is born with the power to manipulate time and space with no knowledge on how to use it and the loss of her sight in compensation. Lily is the biological daughter/niece of the insane billionaire, A. J. Howard who attacked her mother (who ultimately escaped him) and intends the same for Lily.

Lily inadvertently meets Leo at the age of eight and befriends him after he accepts her odd visions of other people in different times and places. Then after her mother dies, she establishes a strong bond with her cousin, Lisa (physics genius), before being placed into a long term mental institution as a result of her visions.

After a vision of Karai's mutation and Leo's death (at the hands of the Shredder during the invasion), she escapes the facility to warn her friend, eventually finding her way back to him (about three quarters of the way through season 2 events).

Meanwhile, Chung I (who knows about Splinter and the other turtles via spying on the astral plane and has kept it from Mei for fear of losing her) is betrayed by one of Kitsune's sleeper agents and fails to reinforce the seal on the mirror. The Dragonlord breaks free and kills him before seeking out the vessel that Kitsune is preparing for him. Da-Huan becomes the new Chung I and Mei is sent to NYC to track down the Dragonlord, with limited success.

During her internship with an R&D firm, Lisa discovers that her mentor, Dr. Filtch (Captain Filch), is a thief of intellectual property, but he catches her. Since he is also one of the Shredder's scientists, he captures her for his mutation experiments with the Foot clan.

During the Invasion, Lily's intervention prevents Leo's death (although he is gravely injured still); otherwise everything occurs as it does in the show. While at the farmhouse, she has a vision of Filtch mutating her cousin, Lisa.

Meanwhile, A. J. Howard, send Dirk Savage, his close friend and black ops specialist, to track down his missing nieces and Mei meets Kurtzman, passing along Kraang intel she finds while asking him to keep her a secret.

The turtles return and save Lisa (now a lizard mutant) along with Splinter (initiating Lisa's romance with Raph). Also, Amaya discovers Karai's absence and travels to NYC with Ninjara (who at that time meets Slash, initiating their romance) to confront Saki, who blames Karai's mutation on Splinter. During this time, Alopex realizes that the Foot clan destroyed her home and wants revenge against the Shredder.

Then the Turtles save and restore NYC from the Kraang. Alopex joins Shredder in NYC, pretending to serve him. Kitsune travels to Chicago and kills Angel Bridge's great aunt to acquire the wind elemental, causing Angel and her mother to relocate to NYC.

After Angel's mother (who once escaped from the Purple Dragons while pregnant with her) is accidentally killed by a rival gang, Angel joins the Dragons for revenge. Casey's dad, Arnold Jones, was once leader (Hun) of the Purple Dragons and is a recovering alcoholic. He escaped with his best friend Angel's mom and was introduced to his wife, Gabrielle, through her. Gabrielle died giving birth to Casey's sister Maria (Shadow).

So Arnold is Angel's legal guardian when her mother dies and reenters the gang world to try and save her, which he does with Casey and April's help, but not without revealing his own and Angel's mother's pasts. Angel is accepted into the Jones family, but vows to take down the Purple Dragons from the inside.

Meanwhile, Kitsune returns to NYC to pretend to serve the Shredder. Dirk and A. J. finally track down and kill Filtch, but not before he mutates A. J. into a mind controlling (mutant specific) slug with a customized mutagen that he was developing for the Shredder as an alternative to Stockman's brain worms. At Kitsune's request, Dirk begins hunting down and capturing mutants for A. J. to form into his own personal army.

Meanwhile, Mei seeks out the turtles for Splinter's aid in tracking down the Dragonlord. She changes her name to Venus di Milo and begins training April and Lily in their unusual powers. April restores Karai's mind (distantly) with her psychic powers, shortly before Karai is brain-wormed.

Then Alopex infiltrates the turtles and sends them into a trap to rescue Karai. She is not able to use the opportunity to kill the Shredder, but she does manage to free Karai and everyone does make it out (albeit badly injured). Despite everything, Karai and Alopex are brought home with the turtles.

Slash has developed enough of a relationship with Ninjara to try and save her. After a tense confrontation between Alopex and Ninjara in the lair (Alopex betrayed Ninjara to Kitsune), Alopex, with Angel and the turtles' help fake Ninjara's death.

Slash and the Mutanimals journey with Ninjara to Japan to free her people from the detention facility where they are being held. Through Kurtzman, Slash also makes a deal with Japan's government to provide amnesty for Ninjara's people in exchange for the Mutanimals service in Japan's Earth Defense Force. Ninjara (Umeko) later uses intel from Karai and Alopex to deliver the Shredder and Foot clan to Interpol in exchange for joining the Mutanimals and earning them more privileges.

Alopex teams up with Angel, to take down the Purple Dragons. After Alopex weakens him, Angel challenges and defeats Hun for control of the Dragons, turning them into a vigilante organization to protect people.

Amaya (who has cut ties with Shredder after losing Karai again) attacks the turtles in their lair, but Venus gives Shen's ghost the power to reconcile the family. Amaya finally learns the truth and joins Splinter and the turtles as part of their family.

April chooses Casey and Venus discovers that Leo loves Karai (after one of Donnie's mutagen experiments gives Leo the ability to kiss her without being poisoned by her venom). After a period of heartbreak, during which they comfort each other, Donnie and Venus ultimately end up together.

Meanwhile, A. J. has captured most of the Shredder's mutants and finally brings down Alopex (as per Kitsune's request). Through her he discovers Lily's location as attacks the turtles, infecting their family with his mind control spores. When Amaya, April, Casey and Angel go to rescue them, they end up fighting their own allies.

Noting the special bond between Mikey and Lily, A. J. uses that to coerce Lily to cooperate. Eventually, Dirk can't take anymore and kills A. J. freeing his mutant army. The turtles, their family and their allies fled for home where Lily has a vision of the Dragonlord's rebirth and they have to move out to save the Shredder.

Having stripped the Shredder of all his allies and collected all the elementals, Kitsune uses the Kabuto to initiate the Dragonlord's rebirth in Shredder and eventually his conquest of Earth. The turtles and allies attack, but are ultimately losing to the mystics when, seeing this in a vision, Lily accesses her full powers and stops time (also restoring her sight).

This brings her to Lord Simultaneous' attention. He brings her to Null-Time and explains her history to her, where she changes her name to Renet (what Brian Tilley would have called her) and reveals that he has Brian's murderer, Savanti held prisoner, but it is not in his power to kill him.

Fearful of Savanti's escape, he can't do his job protecting time. He wants Renet to apprentice to him and offers to help her save her friends if she agrees. Angry at being coerced, she does accept and he teaches her how her powers work and lends her the scepter.

She returns and alters everyone's positions so that when she unfreezes time, her side all gets insta-kills on the mystics and Foot-bots and Venus is able to use her powers to seal the Dragonlord into a device that Donnie built for her. But it isn't going to hold.

Then Simultaneous (Marcus) shows up and opens a window to Da-Huan who has just finished repairing the mirror. He offers them Savanti as a power source, to seal the Dragonlord from Donnie's device to the mirror through the portal. They accept and the Dragonlord is sealed away once more and Kitsune is trapped in the form of an actual, powerless fox. Savanti is drained to an empty husk and no longer a threat to anyone. Renet has to return to with Marcus, but develops a rebellious streak as she's in love with Mikey and unwilling to lose that.

Karai ends the vendetta with her father and Saki sets aside the mantle of the Shredder. He takes a deal with the EDF to avoid jail time in the hopes of once again becoming worthy of his family. Lisa adopts her nickname Mona Lisa and opts to stay a lizard mutant with Raph, although Donnie could cure her and Venus chooses to stay in NYC with Donnie.

And wow that was longer than I thought it would be, but as I said Ties that Bind was huge. I hope I haven't forgotten anything that becomes relevant in All Roads.


	2. Chapter 1: Extinction I

**Extinction I:**

Commander Mozar stared down at the display screen, unable to look away although he dearly wanted to. It was happening. Actually happening. Despite all the predictions and preparations, it hadn't seemed real until this moment. His sun was going super nova and engulfing his homeworld in its dying blast.

Even if he and all his people were safely away in the armada, it still felt as though all was lost. They couldn't live like this indefinitely. They would run out of food, water and air in time. Fleeing was only the first part of the solution.

"Sir?" He finally tore his eyes away from the screen to glare at his aide. At almost nine feet tall, Zog was short. His garish orange flesh contrasted poorly with his blue uniform and war paint. He was certain that the boy had to be a relative of someone important who had forced him into the position to assuage family pride. He was absolutely useless and Mozar was stuck with him.

"You had better have some good news." Zog's horns swung around as he bobbled his head nervously.

"I have the report from the scientists." He held out an electronic tablet and Mozar snatched it from his grasp. Ahh. So they'd finally found a suitable planet. It looked like the atmosphere would require some adjustment to be breathable but otherwise it had everything they needed. Once the current inhabitants were disposed of.

"Tell the engineers to prepare the hyper-drive. It's time to see our new home."


	3. Chapter 2: Swarm I

**Swarm I:**

Queen Maligna curled her numerous limbs around herself as she nestled into her fibrous throne at the center of the world's primary hive. Her daughters, lesser queens, managed the many other hives they'd built into the planet, but none were yet strong enough to challenge their mother for dominance. Nor would they ever be.

Maligna monitored the situation carefully and dealt with any potential threats swiftly and without mercy. She had no intention of relinquishing her throne like her own mother before her. Like all queens of their world, with the help of a chosen consort, she was also the mother all the denizens of her hive. All the pink hued female workers and the bluish purple male warriors were her offspring, but that was of no concern. There was no potential in any of them to unseat her. They were mere pieces in the machine that made her empire run.

A humming vibration echoed through her chamber and she clicked her mandibles to bid her supplicants enter. The membrane over the entrance tunnel parted to allow Scul and Bean inside. Bean, her advisor and head of her bureaucracy, was flushed extra pink with excitement, whereas Scul, her spymaster, remained his usual unreadable self as they approached and bowed low before her.

"Speak." Scul allowed Bean to do the talking. He probably wouldn't have been able to get a word in even if he wanted to.

"We have new information on the Triceratons."

Maligna let out a high pitched hiss at the mention of their ancient enemies. There were no records of a time before the war between the Triceratons and the Malignoids. Their conflict was so old and deeply ingrained that no one had any idea what had caused the clash of empires, but the low simmering hatred tended to erupt gory battle and crippling destruction for both sides about once a generation at least. Bean fluttered her feather-like wings in glee.

"Their star has died and taken their homeworld with it." Maligna's mandible clacked together as she cackled, sharing Bean's mirth.

"Wonderful. Tell me those vile lizards were all wiped out in the blast." Bean deflated a little.

"No. They anticipated it and escaped on a fleet of those metal tubs they like so much." Maligna slowly dragged her chitin talons along the side of her throne as she considered this report.

"They can't possibly live on those. They will wither like a hive without a queen." Bean nodded enthusiastically at her queen's assessment, but now Scul stepped forward.

"That would be true, most exalted one, however I have learned of a new planet they hope to colonize to save themselves. They have a head start on it, but we are closer." Maligna's talons dug into her throne, splintering it under her touch.

"Scul! Bean! Summon Lord Vringath Dregg! I have need of him."

"At once most exalted one!" They bowed low again before scurrying off to retrieve her consort. Dregg was the most powerful warrior in centuries. It was, after all, why she'd claimed him for herself. He would see to it that this precious ray of hope was torn away from the Triceratons before their very eyes. She was finally going to end this war victorious.


	4. Chapter 3: On the Run I

**On the Run I:**

Professor Zayton Honeycutt couldn't help but admire his work. Not to toot his own horn, but he was a genius. There wasn't such an agile and functional humanoid robot as his SAL, outside of movies. In his opinion, his real SAL outdid anything science fiction imagination and Hollywood special effects had yet produced.

But not even SAL, in all its glory, was his magnum opus. Although he'd begun coding in LISP, he'd ultimately had to design his own language to handle the artificial intelligence he was going to install in SAL.

While decades ahead of its time, of that he was certain, it was not yet complete. He wanted it to be true AI, not just some simulation of thought or behavior. He wanted to create something sentient. Something with free will. But coding such a thing was complex and immense.

A short cut had recently occurred to him. He could use his own mind and thoughts as a template, translating them into code, to understand how a true mind might function in an electronic setting. Setting up that process was no small feat, but he'd finally managed.

His head felt cold and exposed. He'd been a bit sad and reluctant to shave off his wild bunches of unruly, orange hair, but it was a small price to pay for the greatest scientific breakthrough of the century. The electrodes must attach directly to his scalp to successfully read the bioelectric signals from his brain.

He was hooked into the computer and the software, his own design, was ready to read and code his mind. He rubbed his hands together in excitement. Today he was going to make great progress. This was a groundbreaking day.

Although there was not yet any finished product ready to transfer, he kept SAL hooked up to the computer too, reading and waiting, to urge him onward and inspire him. It was silly, but he couldn't help it. This discovery would change the course of human history. With a quivering hand, he pressed the button and his program whirred to life, generating a tingling sensation across his scalp.

And then several golden columns of dusty light filled his lab. The only things he could think of as he stared at them were the transporter graphics from Star Trek. But there was no way. Right?

Then the light cleared leaving five, hairless, grey skinned humanoid figures behind. They were all a good foot shorter than his own diminutive height at five foot three inches and their heads seemed way too large for their bodies. He wondered how such slender frames could support the bulbous structure and remain balanced.

Each had enormous, solid black, almond shaped eyes and a thin line for a mouth, with mere nostrils where their noses should be. Their asexual looking bodies were completely nude, except for white electronic collars and forearm bracers, covered in buttons. As one used delicate, four-fingered hands to fiddle with the buttons on its collar, the part of his mind, containing his self finally caught up with his more scientific, analytical thoughts.

"A-a-a-liens!"

A very generic, English speaking voice emanated from the collar.

"Professor Honeycutt. You have been chosen to provide the D'Hoonib with your technological advancements. You will be coming with us." They were here to abduct him! To steal his research! They probably wanted to turn SAL into a weapon.

"Never!" His voice came out as a snarl before he had a chance to think about it.

"You do not have a choice Professor Honeycutt. Stun the scientist."

Before he could move, the forearm devices of all five aliens opened up into what could only be interpreted as some sort of firearm and five beams of blue light hit him in the chest. His last thought as his consciousness burned up in bright, blinding light was that he his skull was on fire at every single electrode. And then he died.

* * *

Fugitoid snapped awake in the seat of his spaceship taking a moment, as he always did, to marvel at how it was a robot could sleep. He could only assume that it had something to do with the human consciousness in his head.

It had been a long time since he dreamed of Professor Honeycutt. Usually, it was his harrowing escape from the D'Hoonib storage facility or his many close calls as they chased him across the galaxy. He hadn't even thought about the professor in years. The man had died a long time ago. Decades at least.

What woken up in the storage facility was neither the professor, nor the empty shell that was SAL but something completely new and different, formed from the broken shards of what transferred from the Professor's mind to give SAL independent life. He was Fugitoid now, an android hunted.

The control panel beeped and his three fingered metallic hands curled in defensively. Was it a new alert on him from some opportunistic treasure hunter answering the bounty notice? Had General Blanque, his personal nightmare, found him again?

With trepidation, Fugitoid checked the screen. His exhaust fan whooshed in relief. Not him. Just some Triceraton and Malignoid transmissions that got caught in his carefully spread net of information.

Just in case, he skimmed them and froze, just like the Tin Man from the Wizard of Oz. Sometimes he really wished he could get rid of all the strange cultural references taking up unnecessary space in his head. He shouldn't have the ability to reference a movie he had no personal experience, direct or indirect. But that was irrelevant compared to the messages.

Earth was in danger. The Triceratons and the Malignoids were coming. And humanity didn't have a clue. The extendable connectors that made up his arms legs and neck retracted in anxiety as it sunk in. General Blanque would find him of course. He couldn't make such an obvious move and expect to remain hidden. But what choice did he have? They needed him. It was time to go home.


	5. Chapter 4: Just I

**Just I:**

Leo drew his olive colored cloak around him as he crouched amid the branches, watching the village women and children run out to embrace their men, returned free from the mines. He'd followed them the whole way to ensure they made it and drive off predators or stragglers from the company security force. Every single one of them made it home.

These moments, the fruition of all their work, made the distance and isolation worthwhile to him. They were doing something good, something necessary. It amused him that Karai still felt uncomfortable watching such unfettered displays of emotion. She couldn't let go of the idea that emotions were a vulnerability, something to be hidden.

He supposed he should be grateful that she showed hers so openly to him. In private anyway. A smile came unbidden to his face. Open and enthusiastic. Still, he wished he could display his feelings for her without restraint. At least around family.

Raph and Mona were always plastered together like one being. And Donnie and Venus shared an easy affection, manifesting in gentle touches and shy smiles. Mikey and Renet were all exuberant hugs and nauseating cuddles. But he and Karai were almost professional courtesy when in sight of anyone else.

Well, Miwa to them. He was the only one to call her Karai anymore, but she insisted. Because it was the name she bore when he'd met her. When he'd saved her. It belonged to him and him alone now. Another secret piece of her.

But he didn't mind. There was something appealing about having a part of her all to himself. And everything else would come in time. After so many years under the harsh regime of the Shredder, it would likely take just as long to come out of it. He was patient. He could wait as long as necessary for his love to heal the scars of her past.

Thinking of Karai, he knew that she'd be finishing up soon and was suddenly eager to see her. Disappearing into the jungle like a verdant ghost, he had his own reunion to get to.w that she'd be finishing up soon and was suddenly eager to see her. Disappearing into the jungle like a verdant ghost, he had his own reunion to get to.

* * *

Karai stepped out of the illegal mining operations makeshift office. She'd had a few words with the operators while Leo escorted the workers home and was quite certain she'd made her point. Whether or not the government looked the other way, you did not kidnap the locals to be unpaid labor in your shoddy hellhole of a mine.

While he didn't exactly approve of her methods, they were effective and she and Leo had fallen into a pattern of shared responsibilities. He, the hero, pure and true, saved the innocent. She, the anti-hero, trained to do what must be done, punished the guilty. They did what they were good at, what they liked and each time the world had one less human rights violation to worry about. Karai was proud of her work.

For once the dark skills she'd been taught could have a higher purpose. One that could balance out all the harm she'd done that could not be taken back. Aunt Amaya understood and had personally funded each expedition, although it was hard for her to let her niece go. Leo understood too, always standing by her, supporting her in all things.

It wouldn't be much longer now. They'd put quite a dent in many of the operations coming in to rape the resources of South America's protected places. Land that belonged to the care of the indigenous people living here. A few more camps and they'd be done and ready to go home again. Home where she was Miwa and unconditionally loved.

She didn't deserve it. Not yet. And when the guilt of basking in their unearned affection became too much to bear, she and Leo would set out again. To right more wrongs. To be worthy.

Leo. They'd been apart too long for her tastes. Too impatient to stalk through the forest on two legs, she morphed into the form of a great serpent, disappearing soundlessly into the jungle to rejoin with heart which, as always, she left in his care.


	6. Chapter 5: Balanced I

**Balanced I:**

"Have you tried turning it off and on again?" Donnie worked on repairing an old iron apple corer/peeler while he waited.

"That's amazing!" He tried flinching back from the client's enthusiastic response, but couldn't escape the headset without removing it.

"Yeah, it's surprising how often that works." No longer needing him, the client abruptly hung up and Donnie sighed in relief. Tech support was mind-numbingly boring, but it paid well and could be done remotely. As easy as it was for him to create a legal identity for himself, it wouldn't mean much if he was required to be anywhere in person.

And he needed the income. Partly because he was helping a bit to support the Dragons, now that they weren't stealing or shaking down businesses for protection money, but mostly it was to fund his education. He hadn't told anyone he was doing it except for Venus. He wanted to surprise his family when he was done, but Venus's ever present support was doing a lot to help him get through the process.

He'd gotten the idea from Mona when, a year after they'd defeated the Dragonlord, she had decided to finish the degrees she'd been pursuing, claiming Post-Invasion Syndrome to do everything remotely. It was common enough after the Kraang occupation that paranoid shut-ins simply needed to be accommodated for society to function in New York.

Now, two years after that, he had his GED, four bachelor's degrees, one in physics, one in mechanical engineering, one in computer science and one in chemistry. He'd narrowed down to two master's degrees in mechanical engineering and chemistry and was now currently pursuing his PhD in mechanical engineering.

At first, he'd only meant it, to gain some credibility for sharing some of his inventions with the world, things that could help improve quality of life for all people, but once he'd gotten started he'd been like Mikey in a candy shop. He couldn't help himself. School was amazing and he had access to so many more resources than he'd ever had before scrounging for whatever he could find to teach himself.

And so he now had way more degrees than he'd ever anticipated, probably setting some kind of record for the most accelerated education ever. The University was probably making all kinds of special exceptions for him in the hopes of snagging him for their faculty at the end. Even with all the scholarships he'd been offered it wasn't cheap, but he was determined to pay for it all himself. Hence, the hours spent answering calls to explain the most basic functionality of computers.

At least he had something to keep his hands and some of his mind busy. One last adjustment and the apple corer/peeler was fully functional once more. Adding it to the finished pile, he reached into the broken heap again, withdrawing an old bicycle pump this time.

After his abduction and multiple reversed mutations, Mr. O'Neil had never completely recovered from the trauma. He'd eventually been able to resume his research in a limited capacity, but still had frequent panic attacks and episodes of irrational paranoia.

It had been April's idea to move their family into an above-store apartment. Considering the store was nearly condemned, the place had been affordable and with the help of the Hamatos and Joneses, the place was up to code in no time.

Mr. O'Neil had turned it into an antique/resale shop, Second Time Around, fixing up or restoring old junk and selling it in his free time seemed to be therapeutic. Mikey was usually the one to scavenge stuff for him, although Donnie still went out frequently enough. Old habits died hard.

Anything Mr. O'Neil couldn't repair or wasn't sure was salvageable he sent to Donnie. He didn't mind. It kept him busy while he worked and he was more than happy to help April's dad. Especially now, with Venus on her annual trip to visit her brother. She wouldn't be back for at least another month and he was counting down the days. The lair seemed empty without her in it. Granted Leo and Miwa's absence might play a part in that too.

Well, two more hours until evening training with Aunt Amaya, after which he could give Venus a call. It would be morning in China by then. Maybe he'd even go out on patrol tonight, just for something to do. Without the Foot clan or the Kraang, it wasn't exactly necessary, but it might be nice to see Raph's jaw drop. Or he could stay in and build something new. That sounded more appealing.

He'd just started sketching a new set of schematics onto his notepad, when his screen beeped, indicating another caller in the queue. With a sigh, he set it aside. Inventing later would be fun, but first he had work to do.

* * *

With carefully controlled breathing, Venus released herself from the meditative trance. The fresh clean mountain air and gentle dawn sunlight filtering through the green leaves soothed her, but she was still empty. This wasn't where she wanted to be. Well that wasn't entirely accurate. This wasn't who she wanted to be with.

But she had promised Da-Huan that she would return once a year, and so she did, revisiting the place that had once been her home. It wasn't that she didn't miss her brother or wish to spend time with him. She just didn't wish it enough to be parted from Donatello. Another month and she'd be home with him again. The thought made her heart speed up in anticipation and she chided herself for the lack of control.

While Masters Splinter and Amaya had taken over the training of her physical skills, without her father, she was on her own in developing her metaphysical abilities. She could consult with her brother, but he was essentially in the same situation, except for the weighty responsibility he bore.

And so she was responsible for her own advancement of chi mastery. She did her best not be frustrated with her progress, but it was slow, full of trial and error with no guarantee of success.

At least when Donatello was at her side, encouraging her, she could let her self-irritation wash away like a tide and have confidence. Being apart from him always seemed to set her back some. But she refused to dwell on that now. It was time for a break.

She was to have morning tea with her brother and could play with her young nephew while her sister-in-law would look on with poorly disguised terror, never quite having become accustomed to Venus.

She didn't take it personally. The people that mattered accepted her and her little nephew adored her. Yes, tea with her family would be just the thing to lift her melancholy. And in a few hours, she'd be speaking with Donatello on the special, satellite-run video phone that he'd built for her. The day was already looking brighter.


	7. Chapter 6: Fierce I

**Fierce I:**

Raph smiled to himself as he cleaned his bike to a perfect shine. Donnie and Mona were the only ones he'd allow to touch it and even so, he preferred to care for it himself. Donnie had made it, a little over a year ago, for him as an eighteenth birthday, or as they celebrated it, mutation day present.

Over the past three years, since laying the hurt down on Kitsune and the Dragonlord, things had gotten quiet. There was no more Foot clan, thanks to Miwa, Alopex and Umeko. And thanks to, surprisingly Mikey of all people, there were no more Kraang to worry about. It still boggled his mind that his goofy little brother could be a genius anywhere, even if it was Dimension X. Maybe it should be a little concerning that Mikey was like the Kraang-Whisperer, but they were defeated and not coming back, ever, so whatever.

Between the Purple Dragon vigilantes, Casey Jones and the Hamato clan, New York had never been safer. So it shouldn't be all that surprising that the others had dropped out of patrol, which had been becoming more of a general rooftop run for a while anyway.

Eventually, it had just been him and Leo until Leo decided to run off, saving the world with Miwa. He fought back the usual spike of resentment. The world needed them. They did good. And they always came home. He just didn't like the sense of separation their departures left.

Given the circumstances, his family was probably more tightly knit than most, so the absence of any member was always keenly felt. Especially by him. He'd never show it, but he needed them. He needed them all and as much as his brothers annoyed him, he hated to be apart for very long. But he'd allow himself to be shelled before he ever told any of them that.

The point was, patrols had narrowed down to a team of one, Raph. Casey and Mona would join in when they could, but they were both busy with school and he was cool with that. Between him and Angel's Dragon's they essentially had the city covered, and if Angel's people hit anything they couldn't handle, they always knew to contact, Angel, Alopex or him for back up.

Once he'd gone solo, he'd switch primarily to using the stealthcycle, but it didn't always suit his purposes, serving more to escalate the game of cat and mouse he'd ended up playing with Joan Grody. After the disappearance of Muckman, she'd needed something else to sink her teeth into and ended up hunting the ghost that was Raph, getting uncomfortably close to uncovering his identity sometimes.

But Donnie and Mona had an idea. When he turned eighteen, Mona had made him a disguise and Donnie had built him a custom-bike, designed specifically to suit his needs and he'd become the Nightwatcher, a much more public figure.

Grody was chasing her tail trying to figure that one out as Mona and April laid a mix of false leads for her like it was some kind of hobby. Not that he minded. Her frustration was hilarious. Besides he was pretty sure the mere existence of the Nightwatcher persona deterred a lot of wannabe criminals.

Too bad it was the weekend. Cuddling up with Mona on the couch and watching her pretend to be annoyed while he distracted her would have been an excellent use of his time right now. But she'd agreed to visit her parents on the weekends.

Sometimes he'd join her, but their thinly veiled disapproval whenever Mona was out of the room tended to push the limits of his already short temper. He could tell Mona and she'd set them straight in a heartbeat, but he honestly didn't want to drive a wedge between her and her parents, so he found avoidance the easier option.

Well he still had a few hours to kill. Hmm, it would be early in Japan, but not the middle of the night. Maybe he could check in with Slash for some online gaming over that secure connection, Rockwell and Donnie had set up right under the EDF's nose. It wouldn't be quite as fun without Mona, but he never got tired of Umeko struggling to master video games. Yeah, that sounded like a plan. Then evening training with Aunt Amaya and afterwards it would be time to bust the heads of whatever punks thought to threaten his city. Life was good.

* * *

Mona slammed her door in absolute, blinding fury and began throwing her things into her bag. A tentative tap on her door caused her to pause as she struggled to rein in her temper.

"What?" She practically bit the word out and might feel guilty over her behavior later, but she was too angry to care right now. Might being the operative word.

"Don't overreact honey. You're father and I just want what's best for you." Taking a deep breath as Master Splinter had taught her, she managed to compose herself. Her voice was surprisingly even as she responded.

"I already have what's best for me, so I'm going home."

"But Lisa…"

"No, I've made my choice. I'll be back when you're ready to accept it." Sweeping her textbooks into her duffle bag, she opened the window and scaled the tree to the ground. No sense tempting another confrontation.

She'd been dating Raph for over three years and she got their initial trepidation with the introduction coming so soon after revealing her mutation, but this was getting old. Instead of coming to terms with it, they were becoming increasing more aggressive in their disapproval.

It wasn't even subtle hints anymore. They were actively trying to set her up on online dates and talking of nothing else besides how great her life would be if only she accepted Donnie's offer of retro-mutagen. Well this was the breaking point. If they were going to force her to choose, she'd choose Raph. He wasn't the one working to splinter the family apart.

It wasn't that hard of a choice, considering that she knew they'd come around in time, now that she'd laid down the ultimatum. She'd never lost a battle of wills with them and didn't expect to start doing so now.

Her mood lifted dramatically as she threw her bag into the roadster. Raph would definitely be pleased to see her home early and tonight she could go out with him and take out some of this pent up aggression on the city's lowlifes. Yes, the night was definitely looking up.


	8. Chapter 7: Defiant I

**Defiant I:**

"Booyakasha!" Mikey actually flipped through the time portal into the lair as Renet stepped out behind him, laughing.

"That was awesome!"

"I know, right? Who knows why that time stream meddler wanted an early start to the European arms trade, but feudal Japan is safe. Or, you know, as safe as it ever is."

"Time heroes one, Walker zero!" Mikey responded as he broke into a victory dance. Renet grinned.

"You may have changed a few local legends about kappa while we were there."

"Improved you mean."

"I'm not sure Lord S will see it that way."

"Whatever. Kappa are totally awesome matchmakers. Besides Mitsu and Kenshin are super cute together." Renet rolled her eyes, but his enthusiasm was contagious.

"Speaking of Lord S, I'd better get back, so he can lecture me about my time tag-a-long."

"Just tell him I am a rocking timesteam-fixing partner."

"I'll try." She ran her hand along his cheek, before using his bandana to pull him into a fervent kiss which he readily reciprocated before opening a portal home with a wave of her scepter.

"See you as soon as I can get away again." And then she was gone, leaving him with a dopey grin plastered across his face. A glance at the clock told him it was time to get dinner started or they'd end up eating right before evening training and Auntie A, never cut them any slack. Working out until he puked did not sound fun. Better to get things going now, so they'd all have a chance to digest first.

Whistling, he bounded into the kitchen, gave Ice Cream Kitty a delicious pet, before examining the contents of the fridge to see what he felt like creating. The freezer mrrowed at him.

"Don't worry Ice Cream Kitty, we are totally having an ice cream and pizza cartoon party after dinner to celebrate." He'd totally have his appetite back by the time training was done. The freezer purred in response.

Oooh. Just the right ingredients for mystery casserole surprise. He loved mystery casserole surprise! Spilling the fixings across the table, he vaulted over it to answer the ringing phone, Donnie had installed on the kitchen wall for him.

"Cowabunga Carl party services."

"Hi! Are you free to do a five year old birthday party at 2pm next Saturday?"

"Absolutely! It's fifty dollars, cash only." The woman sounded relieved.

"Thanks. You're totally saving the day."

"Like a turtle do!"

"And uh, always in character apparently, do you have something to write with for the address?"

"Yup." Mikey jotted down the time, date and address on his magnetic Crognard dry erase board attached to the fridge and ended the call. Donnie thought he was nuts, going out to work, but Mikey loved people, even if most of the ones that he saw through the giant foam mask were rarely over four feet tall and tended to attack him.

Besides, parties meant lots of free cake and ice cream. It was perfect. And seriously, it was like they'd designed the party wagon for this job. Well that and battle, but come on, it was the party wagon. Besides, he liked being able to help support Angel's Dragons. Donnie wasn't the only turtle who could invest in the city's safety.

Also, since he was unquestionably the biggest eater in the family, he felt a little obligated to chip in for food, even if Auntie A said he didn't have to. That and he was saving up for a whole list of new video games that he wanted to buy. Money was awesome! That and buying stuff online. Now, time to mix up some grub. His family would be totally surprised when he called them in.

* * *

Renet sighed in relief when Marcus, aka Lord Simultaneous, stormed off with the Scepter of Time, obviously too angry to finish his rant now. She'd probably get the rest later, when he calmed down. Yay.

She didn't see what the problem was. Mikey never caused too many problems when he teamed up with her and he made the work fun. Since he'd coerced her into this job, she deserved that at least. She glanced down at the glowing blue band around her wrist. Apparently not.

He'd banned her from dimensional travel for a month, tethering her in Null-Time with the glowing manacle. Ah, she'd probably figure a work around for it in a day or two and then she could hang with Mikey again.

Born with the power, she had a more natural way with it than even Marcus's master. She didn't need the scepter to travel through time, space and dimensions, although it did make it easier and she had an almost instinctual sense of how time was intended to flow. While technically still an apprentice Timestress, she was pretty sure her skill already rivaled Marcus's.

So he was probably right that she was meant for this, but that didn't mean she couldn't be a little rebellious while she was still young. She'd taken a peek into his past and found that he hadn't really been any more obedient.

Knowing that she'd better be in her room, reviewing the histories again when Marcus came looking for her, she set off, taking only a moment to stop before her father's tomb. Brian Tilley looked peaceful in his timeless crystal and she ran her hand over the glass, wishing that she could have known him.

Well she supposed she could if she really wanted to, but that would be an abuse of her power, no better than the criminals she tracked down. And that wasn't her. Sure she'd flake off to play with Mikey while Marcus rushed around trying to undo all the damage incurred during the years he was stuck babysitting Savanti, but she wasn't selfish enough to mutilate the time/space continuum just to satisfy her personal happiness. She understood responsibility.

"I'll make you proud dad. But I won't sacrifice all the joy in my life to do it." With a sad smile, she pulled her hand away. Now time to figure a way around the manacle so that she could see Mikey again.


	9. Chapter 8: Solace I

**Solace I:**

Splinter knelt under the dojo tree enjoying a cup of tea and listening to the sounds of his family. It sounded like Raphael was playing a video game, or at least that's what he called it when he yelled obscenities into his headset, while holding the controller in front of the television.

Softer than that was the sound of a very frustrated Donatello trying to explain some incomprehensible computer gibberish. He could hear Michelangelo in the kitchen and knew they would soon be eating. Noting the absence of sound that would have come from Leonardo, Miwa, Venus di Milo and Mona Lisa, he couldn't help but frown at the reminder of the missing pieces of his family. Sitting beside in companionable silence with her own cup of tea was Amaya, raising an eyebrow at the discord in his serenity.

"Thinking about the others?" His frown vanished and he shook the thoughts away, marveling at how it was Amaya always seemed to know what he was thinking. There was a time that they wouldn't have understood each other at all, but age, experience and tragedy and somehow put them in perfect balance with each other.

She had been a fine companion over the past few years and he'd been surprised to learn the extent to which he admired and respected her and how very much he needed her company. He'd been completely unaware of the burden of his isolation until she had appeared to alleviate it.

They reminisced about Shen and Miwa, shared stories of their past and the events of their daily lives. He'd been fascinated with the tales of her travels and work as the Headhunter as though it were a series of adventure stories.

She seemed to most appreciate the anecdotes of life raising his sons. While the events had always been trying at the time, when he retold them to Amaya, he realized that he could now look back on them and laugh. They were good memories to relive.

But all the while he grew closer to Amaya, he still couldn't help but see Shen whenever he looked at her. Even if he weren't a mutant rat, surely anything more than what they had would be wrong. That was fine. This was enough and more than he deserved.

* * *

Amaya, waiting for a response, watched has he shook away the dark thoughts that weighed on his mind.

"I am, but they will be back soon. I can be patient." She understood. It killed her every time Miwa and Leonardo left on another mission, but she knew that her niece needed this and had to trust that they would take care of each other. They would be fine and home again within a month. Who knew, maybe Miwa would be able to stay this time.

Splinter gnawed distractedly on a block of wood as he allowed himself to be lost in thought and Amaya felt an amused smile spread across her face. When she'd first asked about the pile of wood that he kept in his room, he'd been terribly embarrassed. It made sense though. Rodent teeth never stopped growing and needed to be worn down. Being the result of mutagen exposure only exacerbated the problem.

While she had laughed at first, each visit after, she'd always returned with more fresh wood so that he wouldn't have to scavenge for wood that wasn't either disgusting or chemically treated. Considering that he was still self-conscious enough about it that even his sons didn't know, she felt honored that he was comfortable enough to gnaw in her presence. It was a sign of trust that she probably didn't deserve but was grateful for all the same.

Over the years she'd begun to see what her sister saw in him, but refused to act on it. What they had now was too important to her to jeopardize with another ill-advised affair. Besides, he had and always would belong to Shen. She would not try to take what rightfully was meant for her sister. Even so, she couldn't deny the nobility of his bearing, the quiet strength that always seemed to surround him or the fact that, once you got past the exotic, rodent features, he was quite handsome. But she would refrain, admiring only from a distance. Mikey's voice rang out through the lair.

"Time for dinner!" Besides, she had so much now, how could she desire more? Giving Splinter a challenging look, she asked, "are you ready to find out what he's produced this time?" His ears twitched if as he suppressed a smile.

"Only if you are."


	10. Chapter 9: Yin and Yang I

**Yin and Yang I:**

April pulled out her phone to examine the text that the buzzing had alerted her to. From Donnie, "mystery casserole surprise. Save yourself." She laughed and tucked the phone away. It looked like she'd be figuring something else out for dinner. Maybe she and Casey could make a date of it. Provided he got the warning in time.

Once in the lair, there was no polite way to decline Mikey's experiments, some of which were amazing and some of which might require hospitalization. Donnie's warning implied this to the latter. But he had those adorable puppy eyes that were physically painful to refuse.

No, if Casey ended up there he was on his own, but she didn't think Raph would let that happen. He was a good friend when things got serious. And mystery casserole surprise sounded very, very serious.

Another text pulled her out of her ruminations and her nose wrinkled when she saw it was from her boss. Interning with a PI had sounded like such a great idea, when she'd first run across it. Since she was majoring in investigative journalism, it seemed like an excellent way to build up some experience, but more often than not, Milt just ended up passing off his work to her to do and so her kunoichi skills were employed taking incriminating pictures of unfaithful lovers. What a waste of time and energy.

At least she got more practice working pro bono with Donnie. She'd apply her keen mind and clever instincts to find evil businesses and individuals falling through the cracks in the legal system and Donnie would work his computer magic to see that a sufficient amount of evidence ended up in the right hands. It was a fun hobby, but it didn't pay the bills.

Even with the scholarship she'd managed to pull and her dad's income, tuition and textbooks were hard to afford. She didn't have an athletic full ride like Casey, so she didn't have the luxury of goofing around directionless through her academics. Although she couldn't begrudge him for it. After Angel's mom died, Mr. Jones was in absolutely no position to pay his kid's way through college, even with the extra year to prepare.

Under normal circumstances, she and Casey would be college sophomores by now, but after the invasion, the school systems just decided to repeat the year that got interrupted pushing everyone back. Oh well, Casey would have likely flunked math without the extra time, even with her and Donnie helping him, so maybe it was for the best.

Another text caught her attention. It looked like Casey had already gotten the dinner warning. Grinning like an idiot, she tucked her phone away. Stomach turning work aside, tonight was probably going to be fun.

* * *

Trudging into the locker room, Casey noticed his phone blinking with a message from Raph. As badly as he wanted to go out tonight and lay the smack down on some evil, he'd procrastinated to the point where this was the last night to finish his Urban Culture paper before it was due and he hadn't even started. But it wasn't an invite out.

"Run for your life." The text was accompanied by a picture of what he suspected was Raph's dinner. So Mikey was experimenting again. As often as Mikey's creativity resulted in something truly epic, it more frequently seemed to require a bio-hazard label. And you couldn't even trust it when Mikey tried it first because Mikey could and would eat absolutely anything, like some kind of useless super power.

Well, possibly not useless as Mikey claimed that he had once saved everyone from a hypnotic, carnivorous pizza mutant by threatening to eat it to death. But without anyone else able to recall the incident, it could have just as easily been born of Mikey's vivid and bizarre imagination. Either way, it looked like he was on his own for dinner tonight. If Raph survived, he could get the harrowing tale of family supper tomorrow.

Stowing his hockey gear, he made sure to pull out what he'd need for the youth hockey class he was teaching tomorrow afternoon. Not only was it a great way to fund Angel's vigilante organization, but it turned out he really liked teaching. There was just something about fostering the next great generation of hockey legends that appealed to him. No matter how badly things went with his class tomorrow morning, he wasn't going to let that screw up his hockey time,

But he still couldn't afford to end up on academic probation. There was a minimum grade requirement to keep his scholarship. Hmm, Red was good at writing papers. Maybe he should see what she was up to tonight. She might be grateful enough to help him out if he saved her from Mikey's dinner. Now that was a plan he could work with.


	11. Chapter 10: At Any Cost I

**At Any Cost I:**

He shook as he gripped the barrel of his rifle and supposed that he should consider himself lucky to have one at all given the shortage of weapons and ammunition on the American side. He did not feel lucky. He felt miserable and afraid. Growing up with rousing tales of the Revolution, this was not how he envisioned war. This was hell.

Born in 1776, he'd always felt especially patriotic, so when he'd moved to New Orleans to open an import business several years ago, joining the local militia had seemed such a natural and logical thing to do. How was he to know they'd go to war? And how was a war over the Canadian border reaching this far south anyway?

Although a bit old for military heroics, he'd been optimistic when he'd heard that the British were going to try an amphibious assault down here in New Orleans and even more inspired when Major General Andrew Jackson had arrived to rally them. That had been weeks ago. Now he just wanted it to be over.

You'd think growing up with the harsh winters of New Hampshire, he'd be fine this far south, but he wasn't. With a shortage of supplies and other creature comforts, he was freezing and wretched. This had been the single most unhappy and depressing Christmas of his life and with 1815 fast approaching, it seemed he would be celebrating the new year in the same unpleasant fashion. Any poet or bard who glorified war deserved to eat his own bayonet.

Suddenly the air hummed and heated up around him and, for a moment, he and his fellow soldiers basked in the warmth before the heat became searing and intense. He had only an instant to wonder if this was some new kind of weapon before his own screams drowned out everything that was happening around him.

He was lost in darkness and pain for he knew not how long with only incomprehensible glimpses of garish, grey faces without noses or discernable mouths, dominated by enormous, insect-like black eyes.

When he could finally pull two thoughts together, he found himself lying on the river bank amidst battle. Was it the same one he'd left or yet another in this seemingly endless series of skirmishes?

Moaning, he sat up and vomited when he caught sight of his comrades. They'd been torn asunder and left in a mismatched mess of gore. Not even a hail of artillery fire could have caused this carnage. How could it have happened and why was he unharmed? Overwhelmed, he sank into the frozen mud as his consciousness fled.

* * *

John Bishop blinked and stared down at his hand in confusion. Dripping scotch, it was a pincushion of broken glass. He could see the remnants of his rock glass on the ground at his feet. As he plucked the shards out of his skin, he tried to remember where he was and what he was doing.

The Anti-Extraterrestrial Defense Force? Grant had allowed him to set it up. So it was 1870, give or take a few years? Wait, no, that's what Eisenhower wanted to call the division after Roswell, feeling appropriately aggressive coming off the war.

No, Grant called it the Earth Protection Force. Even though, he only operated in America, Grant had always been a bit dramatic. So was it 1870? Or was it sometime in the 1950s? Scanning his office, he saw a computer on his desk, a digital clock and overhead electric lights. No, neither of those could be right. It had to be later. Much later.

The Earth Defense Force! That's right. He was funded by the United Nations now and it was the twenty first century. Damn. He closed his eyes and rubbed his temples. He'd had another episode. They were more frequent now. He'd had at least four this past decade. Probably because the human mind wasn't meant for to hold so much time and experience. If he even was still human.

Clenching and unclenching his hand, the blood of his cuts had already clotted. By tomorrow it would be healed enough that the damage would be completely indiscernible. No human was no longer a descriptor for him. Because of them! Never again. He would protect his world from those monsters and all other aliens that dared to invade his home.

But there were local threats to take care of. Remnants of the Kraang. He glanced down at the three files spread across his desk, each with a photograph paper-clipped to the top. Two were humanoid turtles, one dress in antiquated clothing from China and the other in a blue mask. The third was some kind of monstrous serpent. They would need to be dealt with.

Bishop considered his options. It would be better to do this quietly, to avoid causing any public panic. He'd save using teams only as a last resort. Solo agents were his first choice.

Well, due to the amnesty agreement, he knew one capable agent who didn't have the option to refuse. In fact, the communication was already up on the computer. Seeing the file already attached. He encrypted the email and sent it out. Then he picked up his phone, still disoriented from losing his sense of time, and dialed a number from memory.

"Sir?"

"Lotus, I have a mission for you to consider."

"I am currently available and can at your headquarters by tomorrow. I'll decide whether or not it suits me after a briefing."

"I appreciate it."

Hanging up, he looked back at the files. That still left one unaccounted for. There was a good agent for the job, however he was…difficult. But that couldn't be helped. It was time to talk to Savage.

* * *

Dirk rolled the twenty sided die around in his hand as he weighed the possible solutions to his current predicament. Brown sparrow eyes blinked up at him from behind the game master screen, totally focused on the task at hand. He'd never really expected to try tabletop gaming, but it was the only thing that seemed to pull Martin out his fugue state.

When he'd unlocked the gates to the Howard's basement, most of the Shredder's henchmen had burst free and fled the estate. He recalled entering the lower levels with no small sense of trepidation. But it seemed a conflict had ensued once the mind control hand been released.

Trapped down there, they really had no choice as some of the monstrosities were pure mindless violence. But the more disciplined warrior mutants of the Foot clan had prevailed and taken down the more dangerous abominations before fleeing with their own wounded.

And in the corner, he'd found Jason the gecko kid and Martin the Sparrow boy huddled together in terror. With no choice, he had to call the government in. Someone responsible needed to be in charge of creatures as dangerous as those squirrel aliens or that creepy jellyfish chimera.

But he'd taken personal responsibility for the children. They hadn't deserved this and somehow he had to make it right. Unfortunately, getting identified as a mutant expert had caused the U.S. government to transfer him to the Earth Defense Force but he managed to finagle a clause into his contract that allowed him to select his targets. Never again would he be used to hunt down and imprison innocents.

Jason had recovered from the ordeal and grown into his own person, eventually seeking more purpose elsewhere in the organization. But Martin's scars ran deeper. Dirk had his suspicions of what the child had gone through and that was enough.

Part of the contract that protected Martin, required him to assist with interrogations, which was fine for the most part. Dirk found that, with Martin, interrogations were more effective and humane but, for the boy's sake, Dirk restricted how frequently he was used for the task.

Mostly Martin just seemed to retreat within himself, blocking out the world to the best of his abilities. The only thing that drew him out was the game. At first it had been a tedious chore, penance for allowing A. J. to run rampant. No, he didn't allow him, he'd assisted and enabled him.

Regardless, playing the game to draw Martin back into the real world, or a version of it, had been the least he could do for the child. And yet he'd ended up being surprised with how much he'd actually enjoyed it.

Martin, when he wasn't catatonic, had a rich imagination and a gift for storytelling and the game itself was an excellent exercise in problem solving as well as a welcome respite from his very non-whimsical life. A knock on the door, broke him from his thoughts and he cursed inwardly.

"I'll be right back." He excused himself politely, careful not to trigger one of the child's breakdowns, and made his way for the door. He knew who it would be, who it always was. There was only one person who visited him in person anymore, as it was easier to turn jobs down from a distance. He tried to avoid leaving Martin in the care of others if he could help it, so avoided missions if at all possible.

"Bishop." He answered as he opened the door. Bishop, one of the less common people able to face him at eye level, also being six feet tall, met him with those unnerving brown eyes and nodded.

"Savage." There was something just wrong about the man, although he couldn't put his finger on it. His appearance was normal to the point of being mundane. His pale skin contrasted with black hair and his dark pinstripe suit. Maybe it was in his posture or expressions. They weren't natural, like something doing an impersonation of being human.

"To what do I owe the honor?" Bishop pulled a file out from within his suit jacket.

"I have a report of a dangerous mutant the needs to be apprehended." Dirk narrowly avoided scoffing. He'd be the judge of that. In Bishop's eyes all mutants were dangerous monsters to be destroyed or controlled. Reluctantly, he took the file and flipped it open.

"No." He snapped it shut and shoved it back in Bishop's hands as his boss's eyes widened in surprise or something near to it. There was always something a little off with Bishop's emotions.

"You couldn't possibly have read it." And he hadn't, but he'd seen the picture and that was enough. He recognized her. Granted, she was wearing clothing instead of her light blue, braided mask, but after that day, he'd never forget anyone of them. That incident was burned into his memory.

"She's not a threat." Bishop's eyes narrowed.

"I'll be the judge of that."

"I won't be going after her. And I suggest that you leave her be." Before Bishop could get another word in, Dirk slammed the door in the man's face. He wondered briefly if he should contact someone to warn them, but even if they were willing to hear from him after everything he'd done, he didn't know how.

Only the location of their home, which he kept as a carefully guarded secret. There was no way he'd be able to get a warning to them in time for it to matter. But they were a skilled group. He could count on their ability to take care of their own. With a sigh, he turned and walked back to the table, where Martin sat staring blankly into space.

"I've decided to let the shadowy figure follow me until a get to a more secluded part of the wood. Then I will confront him." Martin nodded and continued the story.

* * *

Bishop glared at the door for a moment before turning away. So Savage was familiar with this mutant? The refusal was irritating, but that was an interesting and potentially useful bit of information. He'd find a way to turn it to his advantage, but first the creature needed to be taken care of. Perhaps it was time to test out Lotus's protégé.


	12. Chapter 11: Curiosity I

**Curiosity I:**

"Fascinating"

Dr. Oscar Chaplin watched the mutagen molecules bonding through his microscope lens. He'd never seen such a versatile compound. It was a shame it wasn't particularly useful, but amazing to study nonetheless.

The pre-invasion samples were notoriously unstable and while he could predict their effects in general, it was completely impossible to know accurately know exactly what they would do. Even in the most controlled trials, results would vary.

The post-invasion samples, on the other hand, were completely stable having the same consistent effects on plant and animal tissue respectively. But unless the EDF had a burning desire to start pumping out crystal trees or mindless, obedient pet blobs to sell the general populace, he couldn't foresee any potential use from it.

A whoosh and change of air pressure alerted him that he was no longer alone in the lab. He straightened and rubbed the kinks out of his back. It was easy to lose track of time when testing mutagen, but his aching body always kept track of how long he was hunched over his tools.

"Dr. Chaplin." He jolted at the voice and turned, giving a stiff salute. What was going on? Usually, Director Bishop called ahead before coming, so that he could have his status reports and progress ready to present. The director was a very efficient man.

"Director Bishop, I wasn't expecting…"

"I'm aware of that." His eyes stopped on a rack of test tubes with settling samples labeled Muckman.

"Have you made any progress with the garbage mutant?" Chaplin cringed. He absolutely hated coming up short. Surprise visits were unfair.

Normally he rode on a cloud of impenetrable confidence. He was a scientific prodigy after all. He'd started college courses at age twelve and completed his first PhD by eighteen. But moments like these reminded him that being the director of the EDF's science division at the tender age of twenty three was both a privilege and a burden.

Yes, he was smart, but he constantly had to prove that they had not placed too much responsibility in the hands of someone too young, untested and potentially irresponsible. No matter what, he always felt like a kid playacting as a scientist in Director Bishop's presence and not having successful results when asked always exacerbated the sensation.

"Not yet, but I'm confident that the next round of samples will provide an effective toxin to sedate him." Bishop raised an eyebrow.

"It. I meant sedate it."

"Don't treat them like people. They are alien experiments. Never forget that." Chaplin nodded eagerly, hating how childish the gesture must look.

"I didn't think there was a rush on that yet. Has Kurtzman produced any new leads? I hadn't heard…"

"No." Bishop's expression soured and his tone carried an air of finality to it.

"I suspect he isn't looking as hard as he could. More insubordination at every turn." Chaplin wondered if the director was even talking to him anymore. Bishop's eyes looked distant for a second before zeroing back on him, causing him to involuntarily snap to attention.

"I need trustworthy, reliable agents. How is project CY584b coming along?" Chaplin smiled. Finally he could deliver some good news. He excitedly led Director Bishop to an attached lab which he opened with a palm and retinal scanner. On four stainless steel tables lay a set of metal endoskeletons.

"They're coming along nicely. I'm still working out the details of their programming and an authentic looking outer layer, but the stress tests so far suggest they are going to be quite impressive when we bring them into service. I'm trying to make each one unique enough to cover a range of skills without spreading their resources too thin."

Bishop smiled and picked up Chaplin's notepad on a nearby table, flipping through it. Yes, he knew that it was old school to right stuff down by hand and completely unnecessary with the nearly limitless resources that the EDF offered him, but there was just something about translating ideas via pencil and paper that helped them flow and organize in his mind.

"Waster? Lynch? Fist? Dead Eye? Megadeth: The Gang of Four?" Bishop lowered the notepad and looked over at him. Shoot! He'd forgotten that he written that down.

"Well, the project name is so dry and referring to the individual subjects by numeric identifiers…"

"You let Agent Fine name them didn't you?" He winced and nodded. It had seemed like a good idea at the time.

"And why does a new agent who just completed orientation have access to top level projects?" Chaplin's eyes bulged as he rushed to deny.

"She doesn't and I never shared any details, just the general concept and the next thing I knew…"

"You were turning my cyborg agents into a death metal band?"

"I wouldn't…she…"

"Well, I did hire her for her uncanny influence over people. But in the future, keep the restricted access restricted."

"Yes sir!"

Bishop nodded, but obviously still lacked confidence in Chaplin's discretion. Why had he let her beguile him? Damn! Before he could blubber out more assurances, Director Bishop forged ahead, completely setting that issue aside in favor of the next.

"Where is Agent Shadowheart? Isn't she supposed to be working in here today?"

"No, the samples that she was working on earlier need to…" Bishop huffed impatiently.

"The details aren't important, but it will be a few days before she can return to her experiments, so she went to the training center to work on field tactics."

"Good." Without another word, Bishop turned and exited the lab, leaving Chaplin to ponder what that was all about.


	13. Chapter 12: Maturity I

**Maturity I:**

Raven's motions were swift and sure as she transferred her energy perfectly to shatter the cement block with her fist. Her control was improving. Exciting as her work with Dr. Chaplin was, it felt good to get out of the lab sometimes.

She still felt that familiar twinge of envy at the title he possessed. He was younger than her too, but only by a couple years at most. And honestly, she only had herself to blame for only being partway through her Master's degree.

She should be grateful that the EDF was affording her this unique opportunity to complete her education and since she had to go back and get her GED, she was probably doing pretty well. Considering they'd hired her only for her physical prowess, that she had this chance at all was a gift.

Dr. Chaplin might be a brutal taskmaster in training her to master the chemical and biological sciences, but at least he had the authority to award her college credit from Delworth, one of the many institutions affiliated with the EDF. She only needed to be shackled into lab assistant servitude in the meantime.

And she'd probably go nuts, doing nothing but training under Lotus Blossom when she was in between missions. If she'd thought Chaplin was pushing her hard, Lotus brought it to a whole new level. It was a good thing that 'the incident' had exponentially expanded her physical limits of speed strength and stamina or she never would have survived the training. Even now, she wasn't certain that she had full control over the liquid energy that coursed through her.

"Agent Shadowheart."

She sighed as she heard Director Bishop call her name from the other end of the gymnasium. She didn't regret changing her name when she'd joined the EDF. She'd needed a new name for the fresh start on life that she'd been given, but she'd begun second guessing her choice.

It wasn't that the name wasn't true to her. It was still surprisingly accurate. Too accurate. She felt a bit exposed to the world with it. Raven suited her. She'd chosen that inspire and guide her, pulling it from the myths and legends of her people.

Raven might be a trickster, but always struck her as more responsible and purposeful than Coyote. She'd admired how Raven managed to find clever and unorthodox solutions for complex problems and had hoped that she could gain some part of that trait by adopting the name.

Shadowheart she'd chosen because her true self had been a mystery, even to her. To some extent it still was. A powerful field agent, in training anyway, and a talented scientist, well learning to be one, she felt like she had a foot in two worlds and didn't know which path to follow. Only time would tell.

At least she liked her codename. The various social, mathematical and scientific implications of it appealed to her. For now, Radical was the title she preferred. But like the energy within her, she was fluid and that too could change at any time. Grabbing a towel, she wiped the sweat from her brow and chest as she waited for Bishop to stride over to her.

"Director Bishop. Is this an evaluation? I just had one two weeks ago."

"And I've reviewed that. I think it's time to start you on some real field work." She tried to keep her expression hooded as her heartrate picked up with excitement.

"Is that so? Do you have an assignment for me?" He held up a manila file folder.

"How soon can you be ready to travel to China?"


	14. Chapter 13: Guardians I

**Guardians I:**

Yoshida Tora set the binoculars down and leaned against the makeshift wall of his austere blind. His target was promising. Granted, his last group of targets in Japan had also shown incredible potential, but the obstacles involved in approaching them with an offer had necessitated putting them on the back burner when this other opportunity had been brought to his attention.

He'd been observing her for almost two weeks now, but that was really all he needed. She was an excellent candidate. But that was to be expected. She was one of the Qin after all. No one had ever bothered offering to them before, given the weighty responsibilities which they already bore, but circumstances were different.

There were so few agents of the Tribunal remaining, that the world tottered over a peril they weren't even aware of. He alone was responsible for all of Asia and the Pacific and even now he was aware of dozens of disruptions that clamored for his attention. But recruitment topped the priorities.

Unlike any Qin before her, she had been willing to expand her horizons beyond the family obligation. That gave him hope. And after recent events, Shenlong should be subdued for a time. A time during which, the other Qin could produce a crop of fresh descendants to carry on the watch.

There was no guarantee that she'd accept, but he had watched as she struggled to master her natural powers, alone and unaided. At least that meant he had something tempting to add that would sweeten the offer.

As much as he desired to bring her on immediately so that he could go about his work until another potential candidate was brought to his attention, he knew better. Joining was not something to be taken lightly and he had to present the opportunity in just the right way or risked losing her cooperation completely. Yes, he would take a day or two to decide exactly the best arguments to win her over. There were just too few of them left for him to ruin this with impatience.

* * *

Faraji Ngala huffed in irritation as he carefully followed the tracks through the jungle. He'd devoted the last few weeks to watching the team dismantle the mining operation. He probably should be bothered by the brutality of it, but as Africa and now, to an extent, South America were his responsibility, he'd had the dubious privilege of witnessing so much exploitation that he was numb to it.

That was probably not a good thing, but there wasn't any time or energy to devote to anything beyond their purpose. Too few remained. Knowing that Tora was stuck with almost the entire eastern hemisphere didn't make his burden any easier to bear. Four continents divided among the three of them was simply too much. They needed help or something was going to give, if it hadn't already.

And so he'd been tracking the pair. He almost didn't care if they were appropriate candidates or not. At this point it was any port in a storm. He had to be careful though. He may possess the prowess of a skilled predator, but the serpent was cautious to the point of paranoia. If he approached to close, she would become aware of him and attack. A counterproductive outcome.

His best chance was the turtle. His instincts were not dull by any means, but he was by far the more reasonable and approachable of the two. The key would be to convince the turtle first and through the turtle he could get the serpent.

A chance had passed, but he needed to see how the serpent dealt with the mine overseers. Brutal but effective. Sometimes that's what was necessary and while he wasn't sure he approved, he understood. They could use someone like that.

He'd seen all he needed to. They would suffice and he was done waiting. The next time, they were apart, he would make his move. Failure was not an option.

* * *

Joi Reynard sighed as her phone beeped another text. If Adam didn't let up, she was going to throttle him. It wasn't as though she didn't have her own responsibilities.

"Perhaps we should switch targets." As if hers were any easier.

"Handle it McKay." Then she promptly powered off her phone. No more interruptions. Adam might not be the most eloquent among them, but he was sincere and she suspected sincerity would gain him more ground than her caustic sarcasm.

He'd decided a few weeks ago that the fox and the gang girl would be excellent candidates, but didn't know how to come at them. They were an edgy sort and very likely to shut him down when he came to them. But that was his problem and she was done hearing about it. If she let his difficulties distract her, she'd lose focus on her own task.

The set of turtles she'd been assigned were an elusive lot. She rarely saw the bo and nunchaku wielder, although she knew they were out there. How was she to make a proper evaluation if they kept to ground? It was irritating. An irritation that was not helped by being stuck in New York, where so many of her comrades fell. The beginning of the end of their order it seemed.

At least, the third turtle was cooperating with her mission. Strange costume or no, he was out every night and though not especially challenged, his skill never failed to impress. She didn't mind observing him at all. He would do nicely. Now if only the other two would show, she could be done and make the offer.

She could risk it and just assume, the others matched the third, reaching out to all of them through the easy one to find, but that would be irresponsible. She missed the days when she could do that. But there were too few of them left to screw this up.

Tucking her phone away, she lifted her night vision binoculars back up to her eyes and smiled. His helmet was off and he was distractedly stroking the head of a pigeon as he spoke to someone, calming the bird with that almost Disney princess-like sway he held over them.

Talking? To who? Her smile melted into a frown as she noted the cloaked lizard mutant beside him. Her rational mind told that the girl's presence was a good thing, not unlike the male and female human vigilantes she occasionally observed him with.

They all had skill or the untapped potential for it. The more possible candidates the better. While standards had to be maintained, there wasn't exactly room for being picky right now. All the same, she didn't like it as she watched the lizard casually trace her fingers down his muscled arm. She didn't like it one bit.


	15. Chapter 14: To Seek I

**To Seek I:**

Keno was abruptly interrupted when some stranger jammed a flyer into his chest.

"Be there!" And then he was gone, leaving Keno with the piece of litter. Beside him, Carter stifled what would have been a somewhat unmanly giggle at the expression on Keno's face, his short dreadlocks bouncing with the effort to contain himself. Keno huffed.

"Just laugh it up already, you're not fooling anyone." Several, booming guffaws later, Carter managed to get himself under control while Keno waited with ever-diminishing patience.

"You don't have to take it so personally man. It's just an invitation."

"I have better things to do than go to an event hosted by some anonymous stranger who assaulted me."

"You haven't even looked at it." Keno shrugged and glanced down at the flyer. Most of it was a mess of copy and pasted images of beer and people dancing with an address and a date, tonight actually. A drunken house party full of strangers. What fun. Not.

"Ok, now I've looked at it and I have better things to do."

"Like what?"

"I don't know yet, but I'll come up with something." Maybe he could put in some more hours teaching at the mixed martial arts school that had finally rescued him from pizza delivery. As long as Angel wasn't there.

She'd been hot enough that he'd been struck speechless the first time they'd met, but he'd quickly learned to keep his distance. She might be unfairly attractive and an incredible enough fighter that he couldn't help but respect her, but she was also a frigid ice queen.

His first attempts at being friendly, had been met with overwhelming aggression. The irony that she practiced the same Filipino fighting art as his grandfather was not lost on him. Whatever. He preferred Muay Thai boxing and Tae Kwon Do anyway. Best not commit to that until after he checked the schedule for tonight.

"Trust me, I'll find something even if it's just working ahead in my classes." Carter rolled his eyes.

"Glad to hear you're making the most of your carefree college years."

"Whatever."

* * *

"Have fun at practice tonight and try not lose any more teeth." April hung up with a smile, hoping Casey wasn't over-extending himself. Teaching the youth hockey group this afternoon and a full practice with his team tonight seemed like a bit much. Good thing he had her, or he'd probably end up tanking all of his classes. Irma snorted derisively beside her.

"I can't believe anyone actually attends these things." April blinked at her friend as she was pulled out of her thoughts. Irma stood in front of a notice board with her hands on her hips and April noted that her friend's sense of style hadn't really changed much since high school. Well she couldn't talk as hers really hadn't either. Kudos to them for staying true to themselves.

Irma tapped her foot, clearly waiting for a response. Looking at the board didn't really help as it was three layers thick with papers and flyers that covered every single inch. With a sigh, Irma yanked one page down and thrust it out at her. A cheesy flyer for some house party whose purpose seemed to be the destruction of brain cells.

"What of it?"

"There's no room for anything useful on the bulletin board because it's full of junk like this. It shouldn't be allowed." April shrugged.

"Even if they tried to assign specific purposes to the notice boards, it would probably happen anyway. They are used by college students after all. I'm more surprised anyone even bothers posting stuff. I think you're the only person I've ever seen reading a notice board."

That was the wrong thing to say. Irma was about to go often on a tirade about how oblivious everyone was and flung her arms wide to gesticulate as she spoke. But April was saved from another speech about one of Irma's pet peeves when her hand collided with a young, Asian man who had just rounded the corner.

She couldn't help but note, that he'd instinctively blocked the accidental strike before it collided with his chest. April also noticed the light flush in her friend's cheeks and took a moment to assess the newcomers.

The guy who'd almost gotten clobbered wasn't especially tall, but still had April beat for height, although not by much. He had a youthful face, not helped by the almost mullet he wore his hair in. Otherwise, he dressed generically in jeans and a t-shirt with only a red and white leather jacket giving his style some individuality.

He appeared fit and agile, but not overly muscled and April found herself wondering at his skill level should she ever be required to take him on as an opponent. Evaluating everyone as potential combat threats was second nature to her now, but after deflecting Irma, she might be justified in this case.

Beside him stood an amused man, maybe a year or two older than his friend. He was a foot taller and more heavily muscled, but not in a way that would inhibit his speed. April had faced larger and stronger opponents than herself and didn't doubt her ability to take him down if she had to. Not that she should in this situation, but she couldn't turn off her training. Besides he seemed genial enough, with an easy smile and warm brown eyes that reminded her of Donnie.

"I am so sorry. Are you ok?" Irma blurted out her concern before quickly locking down her emotion under a shield of nonchalance. The shorter man blinked as he suddenly seemed to remember that he was in an actual social situation and blushed slightly.

"No harm done. I'm Keno by the way." The corner of Irma's mouth quirked up with the hint of a smile.

"Irma. Nice to meet you." There was a momentary awkward silence, broken by the other man clearing his throat. Keno flushed deeper.

"Oh and this is Carter." Carter was grinning now.

"Good to meet you as well."

"Right, uh, this is my friend April." She gave a nod to Keno and Carter while watching her friend cast about for some other conversational hook and winced internally as both Keno and Irma noticed the identical flyers in each other's hands. Keno beat her to it.

"Oh, are you going to that party?" For a second, her poor friend looked like a deer in headlights, but Keno's smile tipped the balance.

"Yeah, it sounds like fun. April and I will absolutely be there." April groaned inwardly, but knew that with Casey occupied for the evening, she had no excuse to bow out. Besides, being busy with work and school lately, she did owe Irma some girl time.

"Are you going?"

"Uh, yeah, totally. It sounds great. Carter…"

"…has plans tonight and unfortunately can't make it." His friend added dryly and April caught Keno shooting him a quick glare." Irma didn't. She was focused on sending Keno a winning smile.

"Great! I guess I'll see you there."

"Yeah. Definitely." Irma grabbed her hand and led her away as though they had somewhere to go, moving swiftly before she put her foot in her mouth again, waiting until they were definitely out of earshot before speaking.

"Oh crap, what did I just do?" April laughed.

"Comprised your ideals for a cute guy. It happens." Irma sighed.

"Maybe after I meet him there, I can convince him to go somewhere else."

"One can only hope."

* * *

Keno waved awkwardly as the girls walked off, rewarded with a shy wave in return from Irma. They turned a corner and he suddenly became aware of Carter smirking at him.

"Not a word."

"I didn't say anything. Good luck with that."

"Some wingman."

"I do actually have plans and I'm not always available to help you land your next soul mate. There's no way I'll dominate the next American Ninja Warrior tournament if I don't practice." Keno winced at Carter's reference to his string of failed relationships.

"You might have had fun. She's got a friend coming." Carter shrugged.

"The girl who was clearly not interested? That friend? No thanks. Besides, I was never really into the whole fiery redhead obsession." Keno rolled his eyes.

"Right, you and your fetish for Asian chicks. Tell me that's not the reason you're friends with me." Carter punched him lightly in the shoulder.

"Sorry but you're not that cute. At least, I'm not turned on by purple hair dye. I mean really?" Keno flushed.

"It totally works for her."

"Uh huh. Anyway, I've got to bounce. Have fun at your party." Keno looked down at the flyer and sighed. He was pretty sure she was worth it.


	16. Chapter 15: Teamwork I

**Teamwork I:**

Agent Candy Fine reviewed the files again as she walked into the facility to meet her new charges, all mutants. She had some experience with mutants during her orientation period across the different departments, although she hadn't spent any time with them socially. They had to be a lot like other people or she wouldn't have been given this assignment. Dealing with people was kind of her specialty. In a strange way, it was why she'd been recruited straight out of high school. Who would have thought a hobby, albeit an all-consuming one, would decide her career?

For as long as she could remember, she had loved heavy metal music. It was her passion and overshadowed most other aspects of her life. Even now she couldn't start the day without cranking up one of her favorite bands while going through her morning routine. She needed it the way other people needed coffee.

While the classics like Black Sabbath, Led Zeppelin or Van Halen would always hold a special place in her heart, glam metal was her guilty pleasure. Even she would admit that it didn't always carry the best of messages, tending towards hedonism, but she absolutely the loved the sheer theatricality of it. And then the grunge rock of the nineties had to go and kill it. Well not on her watch.

Throughout most of her childhood, peaking during high school, she used social networking technology to organize a massive, nationwide fan movement for glam metal within her own generation. They were so powerful, they'd managed to get bands back together for revival tours and had even inspired some new metal bands to retro style themselves after glam metal.

She'd always assumed that the success of her movement had been fueled by the sheer awesomeness of the music, but the EDF thought differently, possibly because they hadn't taken the time necessary to appreciate the divine gift that was glam metal. They thought she had some sort of gift for organizing, motivating and influencing people.

She wasn't entirely sure she bought that, but the opportunity was too exciting to turn down. So she'd flipped college the bird and ran off to be a super spy. Totally epic. Or so she'd thought. The mutants were hardcore awesome, but the rest was just really bureaucratic and boring. Oh well. Too late to turn back now, although she really missed her neon blue hair, worn long and wild and getting crazy with her make up. The EDF's stupid dress code policies were stifling her creativity.

At least her first assignment was mutants instead of more boring pencil pushers. It wasn't a complex assignment. Apparently the EDF's Japan based mutant assault team tended to be rebellious and had some special privileges to back them on it. Her job. Get them to cooperate and obey. Turning rebels into conformists kind of went against the grain of her personality, but she'd see what she could do.

So there was a psychic monkey, a gecko boy, a pigeon man, a fox lady, a monster alligator and…a ninja tortoise? How was she supposed to meet that guy and keep a straight face? Seriously, had someone made a mistake? It was so ridiculous, she couldn't even picture it.

The building was a bit confusing, but eventually she managed to find the office of the secretary. He just glanced up at her with bored eyes. And without her style, why wouldn't he? Now she was just another boring, blue-eyed blonde with forgettably natural make up. Given how long it was taking for the blue hair dye to grow out, she'd had to cut it and now her once glorious locks barely made it beyond her ears. At least she stood out a little bit, since she was now stationed in Japan.

"I'm Agent Fine, the new handler for the mutant assault team." He perked up a bit.

"Oh, you mean the Mutanimals! They're in the training arena now. It's through that hallway to the left, down three flights of stairs and at the end of the next hallway on your right." The Mutanimals? She liked that. She hadn't even met them and it already suited them better than the boring EDF label.

"Thanks." Surprisingly, the directions were as straightforward as they sounded and it didn't take her long at all to arrive. She'd had some bad luck with asking for directions so far since coming to Japan. While it might be the language barrier, she had the nagging suspicion that people were just answering her whether or not they knew, as though admitting ignorance without attempting to help was rude.

She pushed open the door and stopped dead in her tracks, fascinated by the scene before her. At the forefront, a massive mutant alligator pushing against an equally enormous metal block, deadlocked as a chimpanzee in a fancy metal helmet seemed to be pushing back telekinetically.

Off to the side, was that…yes that must be the ninja tortoise. Holy crap, she stood corrected. He was colossal, but impossibly fast for his size. Wielding a gigantic and heavy looking, spiked mace, he rapidly swatted clay projectiles out of the air as they were being randomly fired around him.

And then at the back of the room, a fox woman, wearing several colorful flags on her EDF armor and wielding what looked like a wooden katana, waited with unnatural patience. Overhead circled a pigeon man, while a mutant gecko skateboarded, yes actually skateboarded, around her.

The gecko darted in, leaping up off his board when she slashed, letting the strike sail between him and the skateboard. Somehow he managed to come back down on his board, but flipped it up again to ride along the wall, as the pigeon dove in. The fox, cracked him on the head with her stick, sending him into a sprawling tumble while the gecko charged back into the fray after banking off the wall.

The fox continued the motion from her hit on the pigeon to take down the gecko, but at the last second, he kicked the board up into her face, and slid along the floor behind her. Then she spun, batting the skateboard aside with her tail as she swung her sword down to land a controlled strike on the tip of his snout as he turned his motion into a backwards somersault to roll away. The fox raised an eyebrow as he grinned like an idiot.

"I know you guys lasted longer that time, but it wasn't that much a victory." He just opened his wide mouth and revealed the green flag from her armor that he held with his tongue. She smiled.

"Well done." The pigeon tossed him his skateboard and he snatched it out of the air as his teammate fluttered over to high five him, or high four in the pigeon's case, trilling "woohoo" like a broken record. The gecko laughed.

"Go team distraction and chaos!" At that moment, the ape appeared to notice her presence and the distraction cost him. His focus broke and the block was launched towards him.

"Rockwell!" The gator just gasped while the tortoise cried out, but they both reacted immediately. The tortoise was there in a heartbeat, seizing up his comrade and tossing him aside while bracing to take the hit himself. But the alligator spun almost as soon as the block had pushed free from his hands, swatting it with his powerful tail, just before it reached the tortoise.

Flinching, Candy shut her eyes as the block now appeared redirected towards her. There was no way she'd be able to move in time. And then she was in someone's arms, hearing the sound of the metal block smash into the wall somewhere behind her.

She risked opening her eyes a crack, to realize that the gecko had her. It looked like he was trying to give her a wink, but the gesture didn't come off quite right without any eyelids. He skidded his skateboard to a stop and gently set her down.

"Woah thanks." He proudly crossed his arms over his chest and gave her toothy grin.

"Anytime babe." Ok, normally anyone who called her babe would get a mouthful of fist, but he did just save her life, so she'd let it slide. Aside from almost dying, this was the coolest day ever. She loved her new assignment. The tortoise approached.

"I assume you're our new liaison with EDF headquarters." She nodded, still a little shaky from nearly being splatted and hiked up on adrenaline induced excitement to speak.

"I thought you weren't supposed to be here until tomorrow?" She finally found her voice.

"A seat opened up on an earlier flight and I decided to take it." He frowned and sighed.

"Well, in the future, no surprise visits while we're in the training room."

"Got it." She fumbled for her file. It had names in there somewhere. Why hadn't she memorized them before hand?

"Hamato Slash?"

"Yes. I'm the team leader." She glanced over at the alligator.

"Leatherhead?"

"Pleased to meet you."

"Uh, yeah. Me too." Then the fox woman.

"Mokoshan Umeko?" She just nodded serenely. Candy's gaze traveled to the helmet chimp.

"Dr. Tyler Rockwell?"

"In the flesh my dear." Ok, weird. But she smiled anyway, and then moved on the cooing pigeon man.

"Uh, Pete?"

"Yup."

"That's it? Just Pete?"

"Yup."

"Ok." And lastly, her savior.

"Jason Rist?"

"That was my human name. I'm Mondo Gecko now." She felt an involuntary smile light up her face. Way to upgrade his name. She liked it.

"I'm Agent Fine. It's good to meet all of you." Rockwell's eyes bulged.

"Your first name is Candy? Wait, your name is Candy Fine?"

Damn psychic ape. God what were her parent's thinking, naming her Candy? She'd always wondered if they'd been drunk or high when they'd picked that one out, but she'd never changed it. Sheer, stubborn pride had decided her to keep it after she'd reached the age where she could legally alter it, challenging the world to dare mock her for it. But she regretted that now. She really liked this team, during the very brief time she'd known them and wanted to impress. Having her name revealed at the get go was not impressive. The doc managed to quickly recover himself.

"I mean…uh…it's good to meet you Agent Fine."

"Candy Fine? That name totally rocks! Man if my name had been as awesome as yours is, I'd never have needed to change it." Her jaw fell open as Mondo spoke and for a second she wondered if he was being sarcastic, but sincerity was evident on his reptilian features. She found herself smiling again. Eh, maybe her name wasn't so silly after all.


	17. Chapter 16: Hero Worship I

**Hero Worship I:**

Caitlyn trembled in her skates, her muscles threatening to betray her on account of sheer exhaustion. A glance to her left unfortunately resulted in her locking eyes with Walt. Sweat plastered his light brown hair to his forehead, making it appear several shades darker than it actually was, almost the same color as his eyes. His eyes which were now narrowed at her, communicating loud and clear 'I blame you.'

It wasn't her fault they were stuck here. It was Zach's. But trying to pin this or anything really on Zach was futile. Even now he was probably still convinced that this was a great idea. In a lot of ways Zach was like a natural disaster you just had to weather out. But since Walt believed that she could have somehow steered Zach off of this course, he blamed her. As if she could. If she had that much influence over Zach, everything would be different.

Besides, Walt had enabled this just as much as she had. But she'd cut him a little slack, since being almost two years older and a high school junior, this was probably humiliating for him. Even she and Zack were on the cusp of being too old for this. Most of the kids here were twelve.

And everyone was on the verge of dying. Seriously, Mr. 'call me Casey' Jones did not have a good grasp on the expected stamina of kids in an intramural, after school sport. And she was not out of shape. Or even a poor skater. She actually loved to skate. At least when she was fast and graceful, but all these pads made her like that puffy marshmallow looking guy used in tire advertisements.

And she wasn't a wilting daisy either. She considered herself to be pretty tough and resourceful. After all, she'd built her own computer from pieces and fixed and maintained the engines in her parents' cars. And if that first one didn't sound impressive, the listener had clearly never had their hands bitten by razor sharp computer innards. No, she wasn't weak. This was just brutal.

At first, she'd actually kind of been looking forward to it. Casey wasn't like any coach she'd ever known. After the opening introductions, it was clear that he wasn't one of those 'yay we all participated' or 'you better win or you're all worthless' coaches. He was ultracompetitive, but less about winning than being sheer kickass amazing at the game. Which apparently involved pushing yourself past limits you didn't even know you had. On day one. Casey skated around, looking his students over. At least he had the grace to look slightly chagrined.

"Well that's probably enough for today. Class dismissed. See you all Tuesday." Looking at some of the other kids, she was pretty sure the next class would be dramatically smaller. She wished she could just quit, but the odds of that were unlikely. For the same reason, she'd been roped into this in the first place. Zach.

Unlike stable, grounded, down-to-Earth Walt, Zach…well Zach was a lot more out of touch with reality. But that was part of his charm. Normally. Caitlyn had known him since before she could remember and couldn't count all the times she'd been roped into helping him with some mad project or another.

Learning to play hockey was merely the latest of his crazy quests. If one was bold enough to brave his room, they'd probably wonder if he was nuts. Cait knew for a fact that his walls were covered in impromptu corkboards plastered in notes and photographs printed off the internet and news articles, most of which connected by color coded pieces of yarn to identify the different connections.

He also had stacks and stacks of notebooks full of his theories. Honestly, she wondered how he managed to get any of his schoolwork done. But he must or his parents would be throwing fits.

At some point in the middle of last year, a blurry photograph, in a tabloid no less, convinced him that there anthropomorphic turtle people running about the city. He'd even pulled up an old episode of Grody to the Max to prove it. The one with that unfortunate guy who appeared to be in some kind of chemical accident who went around saving people for a while. It didn't help that even Grody admitted she was wrong about the baby eating mutant turtles.

He was convinced and was absolutely determined to find them and prove their existence. This worried her and Walt but whereas Walt constantly tried to debunk his brother's theories, Cait always seemed to end up by his side helping him. She couldn't seem to say no when he put on that earnest expression. So she'd found herself applying her electronics knowledge towards turning ordinary objects into basic spy gear. Very basic. She was a novice hobbyist, not Q from James Bond.

It had almost been a relief when he'd stumbled across the hockey vigilante, who immediately became his new hero. So glad were they that he was, at least partially, distracted from his turtle quest, she and Walt had actually agreed to learn hockey with him as he tried to emulate his idol.

Cait didn't have the heart to tell Walt that she was sure, once he'd learned a little Zach was planning on doing some of his own vigilanting. Walt would only worry and nothing was going to stop Zach. He'd just have to learn the hard way and she hoped he survived it. She should probably brush up on her first aid.

Sagging against the rink wall, she risked another glance at Walt and her eyes narrowed suspiciously. He wasn't looking at her anymore. He was slack jawed and practically drooling, transfixed on some point at the far end of the rink. What was that about? Following his gaze, she noted a similar expression on Zach's face.

Annoyed and ignoring her aching muscles, she skated towards that end of the rink, to get a better look as she scanned the area for whatever had captivated the Coleman brothers. There was only one possible answer in the bleachers and it made her heart clench. She was beautiful and looked to be of a similar age to her and Zach.

Superficially, the three of them could be described with the same attributes, blue eyes and blonde hair, but as far as Cait could tell they couldn't look more different. Her own long hair, generally pulled back in a ponytail, was just barely blonde and more the color of honey. But since she still freckled and burned in the sun, rather than tanning, she felt she deserved the title. And her eyes were a really dark shade of blue, like deep water.

Zach, on the other hand, held down the opposite end of the spectrum. His eye color was so light, it looked more slate grey than blue and his hair was so blindingly blonde, it bordered on being white.

For years everyone at school assumed that he dyed it and he'd actually gotten in trouble with the administration over it from time to time. And then about two years ago, he'd gotten fed up and tried really dying it to a less glaring shade.

Unfortunately, it was not in his nature to keep up with it, so he'd just looked strange for a time with normal blonde hair with glaringly bright roots. On the upside, no one doubted that it was his natural color anymore, but the teasing from their classmates had never quite let up.

This new girl fell between them in terms of hair and eye color and looked like the youth template for a Swedish model. Cait immediately hated her. From the edge of the rink, Cait tried to bore her eyes into her so hard that she'd feel it and just leave. But the girl never even looked up from her book. Until Coach Casey approached her.

"Shad! What are you doing here? Thinking of joining for some hockey." New girl Shad rolled her eyes.

"Not on your life bro. I get my butt kicked enough working out with Angel and Sensei. I don't need to add you to the list." He mock pouted.

"My own sister. How could you? But seriously what's up?" She just sighed.

"I'm supposed to be interviewing you, because of that essay assignment for the touchy feely new age writing class I'm in." He just snorted.

"That's what you get for taking all those extra classes."

"I want to learn to write, not get in touch with the inner me." He shrugged.

"Not my fault. Let me get cleaned up. The rec center has a food court. I'll meet you there in a few." The girl nodded and started packing up her stuff. As Cait watched them part Zach sighed beside her.

"Wow."

"Really? The coach's sister? You'd better put a lid on that or I bet he's gonna flatten you." Zach looked slightly abashed, but she knew it was only a temporary victory. He'd just be more subtle about it. Feeling her eyes start to burn with unshed tears, she skated off full speed towards the locker room, to Zach and Walt's surprise, needing to get away before she made a fool of herself. Stupid Zach.


	18. Chapter 17: Birthright I

**Birthright I:**

Ichiro Gokomodo sat at his desk, flipping through files on his computer, printing out a few to add to his collection. One might think that as the wealthy owner of Komodo Industries and renowned philanthropic patron of Japan's traditional martial arts, that his life was good. But they would be wrong.

Unbeknownst to the world, something was missing. Something had always been missing. Something that was meant to be his. But he would set it right. With the very expensive help of Dr. Sack's research, it was finally within his reach. All that remained was the source material. But he had his leads. It wouldn't be long now. It was so close, he could almost taste it.

Stacking the pictures, he added them to the folder with his other documents. He'd considered hiring the Lotus Blossom for this task. He'd been a loyal client of hers for many years and respected her skill more than anyone.

But she was perceptive. Too perceptive. She would see what he was planning immediately. And he didn't want anyone to know until he was ready for the unveiling. No. If he hired her, she would spoil his plans, whether or not she intended to.

Besides, she had just dropped off her daughter again, which meant she was on another mission now anyway. As her preferred client, he could easily request she prioritize his mission. They'd been working together for so long that she even entrusted him with the care of her daughter when she needed to be away. But he wanted, no he needed, this to be a surprise.

Moreover, there was another option. Pimiko. Her mother had trained her well. He'd watched her teach at the private marital arts school that he'd established locally since she was twelve. She was outstanding and more than a little hungry for some real action. She wasn't a child any longer, but was still young enough not to look too closely at any opportunity given to her. The solution was perfection itself. A knock on the door to his study caused him to straighten.

"Enter." Pimiko walked in with her usual casual confidence, a trait she'd inherited from her mother. Among other things. Once again, he was struck by the resemblance. They shared the same long, thick black hair, dark eyes and dusky skin tone, although Pimiko pulled her hair back in a ponytail whereas her mother wore it loose when she wasn't on mission.

Only subtle differences in the cant of her eyes and the bone structure of her face, hinted at Pimiko's Japanese heritage. Well that and her name. Sometimes Ichiro wondered about her father, but these thoughts were self-defeating, circular and irrelevant. Given that he'd been out of the picture this long, Ichiro was certain, he would never reappear to interfere.

"Ah, Pimiko my dear. It is wonderful to see you back home again. How are you're classes going?" Pimiko frowned slightly at the reference to this place being her home, but she was here often enough.

"Well enough, although this new crop of students isn't quite up to my standards." He smiled at her irritation. This was just the mood he needed her in.

"Surely, now that you have the aid of your former graduates, you will be able to bring them up to speed." Pimiko let out a resigned sigh.

"Yes, I suppose I will." Now for the hook.

"Unless you've a taste for something more interesting." Pimiko quirked an eyebrow at him, but he could practically sense the excitement beneath her façade.

"What are you getting at?"

"As the daughter and protégé of the great Lotus Blossom, it does seem a waste of your talent to lock you away in a classroom. A woman of your skill is meant for more challenging work." Despite her attempts and aloof calm, a smile spread unbidden to Pimiko's face. This had been what she was waiting for. He was sure of it.

"I have a task that requires some skill and discretion. I would have brought it to your mother's attention, but she is a busy woman and I would not wish to interfere with her other obligations. I suppose I could wait for her to finish and return, but with you present and more than capable, that seems a bit silly doesn't it? Would you be interested?"

He could tell that she wanted to jump up and scream yes, but applied incredible self-discipline to restrain herself. Doing her best to look nonchalant, she answered.

"Well, I don't see the harm in taking a look." He pushed the folder across the desk towards her.

"Some rather extraordinary marvels of nature have come to my attention. The study of them could push medical science decades into the future and I want Komodo Industries to be at the forefront. I need at least one specimen, returned to my labs here, intact. In fact, I'd like it in as pristine a condition as possible. Money is no object." Pimiko flipped open the folder and barely suppressed a snort of disbelief.

"Turtle people in New York City?"

"I have these from a very reliable source. It also contains as much detail as my source has been able to obtain about these creature's habits. You are authorized to take any graduates you desire from the school as your subordinates. Tell me anything else you need and it will be yours. I want at least one of these and I want it as quickly as possible." Pimiko closed the folder.

"Consider it done."


	19. Chapter 18: Adaptable I

**Adaptable I:**

Carter took a deep breath and entered the pet shop, telling himself that it was no big deal and on the way to his run anyway. He tried for casual, strolling around to appear as though he were browsing. The lovely pet shop girl, standing at the counter, his current fascination, raised her soulful eyes to him questioningly.

"Can I help you with something?"

"Not really. I'm just browsing." Continuing to act natural, he strolled over to the counter.

"I'm Carter Robinson by the way." To keep his hands busy while he awaited her response, finally going to know her name after all this time, he reached out and petted the yellow lizard lounging across the top of the cash register. Skin flaps around its neck flared slightly and he quickly drew his hand back. She smiled.

"Tara. And if you want to pet Pogo, our resident yellow bearded dragon, avoid the head. He's oddly touchy about that." Carter grinned nervously.

"Right." Then he carefully stroked the creature's back to prove that he could and Pogo settled contentedly back onto the cash register. Clearing his throat, he continued, undaunted.

"So I was wondering…"

"I'm sorry, but no."

"What? How did you…?" She quirked an eyebrow at him.

"Really? You've been walking by the shop, looking in at me almost every day around the same time for weeks now. I thought you might be a stalker at first, but when you never showed up anywhere else, I figured it out."

He flushed and considered that while it involved a great deal of strength and agility, despite its name, Ninja Warrior did not focus on stealth. Struck out before he even had a chance to try. He might as well use the opportunity to gather intel, improving his chances for the next girl who caught his eye.

"Mind if I ask why?" She raised her left hand, revealing a delicate gold band around her ring finger.

"Oh, oops. Sorry. If I'd known…"

"I thought so. In the future though, I'd recommend getting to know a girl a little before diving straight into asking her out. And by getting to know, I don't mean staring at her from a distance." Ok, note to self, find out if a girl's married before pursuing her. Good suggestion.

"Thanks for the advice. It was nice meeting you Tara."

"Likewise Carter. So did you come in here at all because you actually own or want a pet?" He winced.

"Nope."

"Thought so too. Well, if you ever change your mind, we offer competitive prices, great variety and our stock is always healthy and well cared for."

"I will remember that. I should probably get going." She gave him an apologetic smile.

"Later then."

"Yeah." Dejected her turned and exited the shop. Maybe he should have gone with Keno to that party. Glasses's friend was clearly not interested, but going might have saved him a little embarrassment. At least he was about to go on a run. That always made him feel better.

Starting at the end of the block, he was going to make it to the river, trying to keep his time on the actual ground limited to a hundred feet or less. A lot of the buildings were condemned, not dangerously collapsing condemned, just recession condemned, so that gave him something to work with. His training regimen had a lot of variety to it, but parkour was by far the most fun part.

Starting in the alley, he ran, vaulted to the top of the nearest dumpster and banked off of it, launching himself across the alley and towards the fire escape on the opposite side. Catching the metal railing, he swung himself up onto the landing but climbing the escape like stairs would be too easy and defeat the purpose, so instead he jumped off of it and caught onto the nearest stone window ledge.

Hoisting himself up, he knew that his vertical jump wasn't enough to get him to the ledge on the next floor, so he pushed off back towards the fire escape, only allowing the his feet to briefly touch the railing before shoving off of it and propelling him towards the next ledge. Repeating this maneuver, he worked his way to the top of the building.

Not giving himself a moment to catch his breath, he kept going, vaulting over some kind of metal ventilation system and jumping onto a chain link fence surrounding what looked like a generator. He rapidly climbed to the top, where the cage was open and leapt across to the other side, balancing momentarily on the top railing on the far side before pushing off and absorbing the momentum of his landing in a forward roll.

And then he was at the far ledge but, as he jumped, he realized that he hadn't built up enough speed to make it all of the way across to the next rooftop. Crap! Fortunately, he managed to snag the top floor landing of the building's fire escape before he dropped to his death into the unforgiving pavement below.

Unable to stop himself as he collided with the metal, he redirected his momentum and swung down onto the platform below. Or so he thought. Landing on the carcasses of some old flower pots, he flailed wildly for a second before crashing through the window behind him, earning himself more than a few unpleasant gashes as the glass shattered inward. Man, nothing was going as planned today.

At least his instincts had made him roll to his feet instead of skidding along the floor full of broken glass. Knowing that the bleeding was likely to get bad fast, he quickly scanned his surroundings for anything that could be improvised into bandages. The place looked kind of like a medical lab, so it wasn't a vain hope.

His gaze caught on the very solid looking metal desk at the far side of the room. There were a few dusty papers scattered over it with the photograph of a girl on top. Her short black hair had a blonde undertone dyed into it and the red, stylized eyeshadow over the white foundation gave her a face a fierce, but not unpleasing look. In five years or so, she'd be smoking hot. And legal.

Beside the papers and picture was a rack of test tubes that really caught his attention. There were five test tubes in the rack, all full of a bizarre glowing substance, which seemed to illuminate that otherwise shadowy room. The four on the left were a bluish green color while the last one was bright orange. Abandoned buildings were supposed to be cleared out, but it kind seemed like whoever worked in this lab just up and left in the middle of an experiment and never came back.

Curious, he took a step forward. Mistake. Somehow his wild flight through the window didn't set anything off, but that motion activated a defense system straight out of science fiction. He could hear the mechanical sounds behind him and turned to see the moving robotics. He didn't know exactly what they were, but could see enough to narrow them down to some kind of automated guns. Holy hell this could not be legal. What was this place?

Having no time to consider the matter further, he dove across the room towards the desk, sliding over the top of it and dropping down behind it, along with all the contents that had littered the surface, just as the weapons began firing.

Fortunately, whatever they were launching wasn't penetrating the solid metal that the desk was constructed from. Unfortunately, he was now trapped here. Maybe he could throw something to distract the guns while he made a run for it.

Looking down, to his horror, he realized that the glowing viscous substance, blue and orange now mixing together, were disintegrating the paper, dissolving it right before his eyes, like acid. And it was also all over him. Not good.

He could feel it just soaking through the fabric of his shirt to his skin, but maybe there was still time to save himself the worst of the inevitable burns if he stripped down. Then that thought, the pain of his cuts and concern over the sounds of firing guns all vanished in an instant as his body was consumed by the intense burning pain. It was the last thing he remembered as he blacked out with an agonized scream.


	20. Chapter 19: To Seek II

**To Seek II:**

April sucked in a deep breath as they walked up to the house. She could already hear the booming music and they hadn't even made it to the door yet. She was relieved when, despite her Keno-induced lapse in judgement, Irma turned out to be on the same page. Neither had bothered dressing up for the event, just going in their normally preferred attire. They didn't have anyone to impress. Well maybe Irma did, but she wanted him to like her for who she was.

Having never done this before, she wasn't exactly sure what party etiquette was for entering, but she doubted a knock or a doorbell could be heard over the din. Irma didn't have any qualms. She just shoved the door open and entered like she owned the place. April would never quite understand the extremes of confidence or lack thereof that her friend lived in, but at the moment, she appreciated Irma taking charge.

Following her inside, she glanced around. Yup, it was a party. Loud music, check. Tables of snacks and food, easily eaten one handed and without utensils, check. Dancing people whom she wished she could bleach from her memory, check. Excessive drinking, some of which was probably underage, check.

The last one curled her hands into involuntary fists. She didn't feel as strongly about it as Casey did, but knowing him and his family had left its mark on her and she'd probably never be able to view reckless alcohol consumption with a casual attitude. What she didn't see was Keno and from the frown on Irma's face, she surmised that her friend hadn't laid eyes on him either.

"Ladies welcome!" April and Irma collectively flinched as a man they didn't know came up behind them and draped his arms over their shoulders. April's first instinct was to hook his arm and throw him over her shoulder, but she reminded herself that she was supposed to be acting like a normal college student, even if she wasn't and wouldn't ever be. Her secret life as a kunoichi was not for public consumption.

Instead, she shrugged his arm off. Irma plucked up his wrist, avoiding touching it as much as possible as though she were picking up a disgusting piece of litter, and let it drop off of her shoulders. He frowned at them but seemed even more determined.

"Glad you decided to come to my little soiree. I'm Will Sacks by the way." He was clearly expecting a positive reaction to the big reveal of his identity. Irma clearly had no clue who he was and no interest in finding out. April knew exactly who he was but wouldn't give him the satisfaction of letting on.

Not that being the spoiled son of a wealthy scientist and entrepreneur would have impressed her anyway. She expected people to have their own accomplishments. And something always struck her as off when she'd seen Dr. Eric Sack's in TV interviews or read about him in articles. She couldn't put her finger on exactly what it was, but knew better than to ignore her instincts. They'd never been wrong before.

"Nice meeting you. Since this is your party, I'm sure you have plenty of guests who need your attention. We won't take up anymore of your time." His frown turned into a glare as she pulled Irma off towards an empty spot on one of the couches. Will Sacks set off as many alarm bells in her head as his father and she wanted to put some distance between them.

They both squeezed uncomfortably onto the crowded couch and Irma sighed. April gave her an encouraging smile.

"I'm sure he's here somewhere. But seriously, if we haven't run into him in a half hour, we're out of here right?" Irma nodded resolutely before answering.

"I'll get us something to eat and drink and maybe I'll see him while I'm up."

* * *

After another fruitless scan of the room, Irma sighed in disappointment. What had she been thinking agreeing to this? An image of Keno appeared in her mind's eye, causing a dreamy unsteadiness to her gait.

Okay, she knew exactly what she'd been thinking, but she wished that she'd been honest with him. If he liked her in return, thinking that this was her thing, it would inevitably be a problem.

Why did cute guys always seem to dismantle her judgement? She could usually play it cool and no one would ever know, but good lord had she screwed this one up. When she finally did catch up with him, she'd have to fess up and hope the divide in their recreational interests wasn't a deal breaker.

At least this party was set up for mixers. If hell froze over and she ever decided to chemically induce herself to act like a fool for the pleasure of waking up hung over, this would not be the place she'd choose to do it in.

Grabbing the two liter of Coke, she poured two plastic cups full. Holding them, she moved on to the buffet. It'd probably be easier to get one plate and share with April. Well it probably would have been easier for both of them to come up and get their own stuff, but she wasn't willing to risk losing their place on the couch, such as it was.

Setting their drinks aside, she grabbed a plate and loaded it up with chips, chicken wings and pizza rolls. Then she retrieved the cups, carefully balancing the three objects, not noticing the way Will Sacks was grinning at her from across the room as she pushed her way through the crowd back to April.

* * *

April looked up in time to see someone bump into Irma, just before she made it back to the couch. Faster than her friend's eyes could follow, she caught the falling cups before they spilled, one in each hand and ended up balancing the plate precariously on her right knee while not even tottering as she stood one-footed.

Irma landed with a heavy thud and groaned before glaring at the oblivious person who hit her and then at April. Oops. Maybe she should have caught Irma instead.

It wasn't her fault that she was accustomed to hanging around people who didn't need to be caught. Of course those same people wouldn't have allowed themselves to be bumped in the first place, let alone completely knocked over by it. Irma dragged herself to her feet and grabbed the plate and one of the cups from April before seating herself with as much dignity as she could manage.

"How did you even do that?" If she answered ninja training and psychic reflexes, Irma might punch her for her honesty.

"I don't know. Lucky I guess."

"Luckier if you caught me instead. We could have always gotten more food and drinks." April shrugged and snagged a chicken wing off the plate, noting that it was quite spicy as she bit into it. Irma took a bite of hers and her eyes went wide.

"What did they cook these in? Ghost peppers?" Tossing the chicken wing back onto the plate, she proceeded to pound her entire beverage in a single go. April just smiled. Apparently years of sampling Mikey's cooking had caused her to build up a tolerance to 'intense' flavors. It wasn't that Mikey was a bad cook. Far from it. But sometimes his imagination didn't translate well into reality.

She was about to take a drink, when her mental alarms lit up like a Christmas tree. Glancing around the room, she finally caught Will Sack's, pretending to chat with a group of people, but really staring at her. Well, she refused to let him know that she was unsettled, even if her sixth sense was screaming at her. So she turned back to Irma and took a long, deep sip of her soda pop.

Irma was blinking around the room like she'd never seen it before. Was Keno here? April tried to follow her gaze as she took another sip, but the line of Irma's vision was a bit erratic. No Keno. What was she looking at?

And why did her drink have a salty aftertaste? Weird. Did they buy one of those generic brands that, despite using the same formula, never seemed to match the original flavors? With a sigh, she kept drinking and checking her watch, willing the time limit that she'd set for Keno to pass more quickly.

Every instinct was warning her of danger. She wanted to leave but she couldn't just ditch her friend. She wasn't truly alarmed until Irma started giggling drowsily.

"Irma?" Had another less competent Kraang switched out Irma during the party? This was not the Irma she knew.

"Aaappprrrill. Thish party ish great." Uh oh. Irma sounded…drunk? But they were only drinking Coke or off brand equivalent. The drinks! She stared down at the cup in her hand like it was a deadly serpent, distantly aware of how slowly she was processing the realization. When the slow motion thought finally completed, she dropped the plastic cup as though it had burned her.

Suddenly a guy she didn't know had a grasp of her arm. How had he been able to get so close without her noticing?

"You look tired. Maybe you should go upstairs and lay down for a while." Even if her psychic warning wasn't electrifying her brain, there was no way she'd let a total stranger lead her off. And yet, he'd already pulled her to her feet by the time her mind caught up enough to respond.

"Hell no." His eyes widened before narrowing in calculation. Fuzzy perception or not, she did manage to note three other men, in addition to Will Sacks who were zeroing in on her, not quite fitting in with the rest of the party guests. April yanked her arm out of the man's grasp and staggered back unsteadily. As he reached for her again, the others closed in. Their mistake.

Despite being drugged and outnumbered, she was still a part alien psychic with years of training under a grandmaster of ninjutsu, one of two prodigies produced by the Hamato clan in the last generation. These guys were just ordinary jerks who'd probably never even been a real fight. They were screwed.

Granted her usually graceful movements now more closely resembled drunk-fu, but it was still enough as she caught his wrist when he tried to grab her, twisting his arm behind his back and snapping the delicate bones in the joint to his screams of pain. Releasing him, he dropped and cradled his broken arm to his chest, sobbing.

The next guy tried catching her in a bear hug. Her hands latched onto his wrists as he reached around her. Then she rammed her heel through his shoe, into the tender flesh just above the toes. His arms loosened as he yelped in pain, just in time for her to slam her hip into his pelvis, tug down on his arms and flip him over her shoulder. He curled up in a ball on the ground whimpering.

At this point, the party had essentially halted as everyone not involved just gaped or filmed the incident on their cell phones. A part of her was worried that those videos would be a problem later, but it was muted by whatever she'd drunk and wasn't sufficient to capture her attention. The remaining guys, after witnessing the fate of their compatriots switched from capture to take down mode.

The next one to get to her swung a full punch at her face, but it was clumsy and inefficient, telegraphing the motion well in advance of the strike. She leaned aside, wobbling unsteadily as the punch sailed harmlessly by her head, then hooked her hand over his wrist and yanked him forward in the direction of his own momentum, pulling him off balance and into her knee aimed at his gut.

She felt the force of her blow slam into his solar plexus, momentarily arresting his breathing as his diaphragm rebelled. His eyes widened and he managed a brief strangled sound before dropping unconscious.

The last guy charged in at her, going for a flat out tackle. She clumsily sidestepped him and shot her leg out as he passed. The blade of her foot connected with the side of his knee, producing a sickening crunch. He dropped with a deafening scream, cradling his injured leg in his arms.

Weren't there five? Will Sacks hadn't been among her assailants. Willing her foggy mind to focus, she struggled to take in her surroundings with bleary eyes. The couch was empty. Oh no. Where was Irma?

* * *

Keno cursed again as he hurried towards the address of the party. Stupid Purple Dragons messing with his head and making him late. He hoped Irma didn't think he'd stood her up. But reacting to Purple Dragons with suspicion was almost instinctive.

While growing up, in his neighborhood, they'd been a constant source of terror for people, even those paying them protection. No one ever knew when boredom would bring a random act of violence their way.

He'd spent the better part of his youth actively avoiding being recruited by them and thus had his share of brutal street fights. If he hadn't been so good he might be dead. Then again, if he hadn't been so good, they might not have been interested in him. His stomach twisted at the memories.

But things seemed different since he'd come back after the invasion. Busy as he'd been, he didn't notice at first. But random sightings over the years had eventually accumulated into an overwhelming sense of confusion. He'd seen Purple Dragons helping and actually protecting people, asking nothing in return.

Local businesses and neighbors didn't quake in terror at their mention. Instead they spoke of them with a bizarre sort of faith and relief. Keno slowly wondered if he'd stepped into a Twilight Zone-esque alternate reality.

Tonight he'd been on his way to the party when he'd caught a Purple Dragon chasing down a fleeing man, something that seemed familiar and natural to him, so he followed to give the Dragon a familiar and natural beat down.

It turned out that the fleeing man was a mugger and that the Dragon was just giving him a solid pounding before returning a snatched purse to a startled elderly woman. Somehow reality was trying to screw with him. And one way or another, he was definitely going to figure out what was going on. Because he didn't know what kind of elaborate ruse they were pulling but the Dragons were not the good guys. He'd absolutely find out what they were up to.

But not tonight. Tonight he had to get to this party before he completely blew his chances with Irma. She had a kind of sassy, cynical adorableness that was hard to find. The Purple Dragons could wait.

He almost burst through the door at top speed, before realizing that might not be the most normal looking entrance to a party. Stopping, he took a deep breath and entered, like he hadn't been racing here as though his ass was on fire. Just a normal guy going to a normal party. Until he saw what was going on inside.

You'd think that seeing Irma's friend April laying the smack down on a group of guys twice her size would be the focal point of his attention, but when he caught some jerk in the background with the arm of an unconscious Irma draped over his shoulder as he essentially dragged her towards the stairs to the second floor, everything else ceased to matter.

He plowed through the crowd of people, barely managing to position himself between the stairs and the guy. Whoever this loser was, he didn't even have the sense to act ashamed. Instead he seemed to think Keno was in the wrong.

"Out of my way and mind your own business."

"She is my business." The guy sneered and actually tossed Irma aside. Without thinking, Keno dove and caught her before she hit the floor. Sensing what was coming, he shielded her with his body and tensed his muscles to absorb the blow of her assailant's kick.

Grunting slightly from the impact, he shrugged it off and then hooked his foot around the guy's ankle, dragging it forward while his other leg shot out, plowing enough force into the man's upper shin to topple him.

Before the guy could get up, Keno was on him, landing three rapid, powerful punches to his head, rendering him unconscious and looking a bit like a Picasso painting. Then he returned to Irma, scooping her up and not caring that she probably couldn't hear him right now.

"It's ok. I've got you. You're safe. Everything's going to be ok."


	21. Chapter 20: Yin and Yang II

**Yin and Yang II:**

The room was spinning, she'd just publicly beaten down a small herd of jerks without even attempting to disguise her skills and people were staring. Hmm, was there a collective name for jerks like there were for other animals? There should be. Maybe she should pick one out.

There were pods of dolphins, murders of crows, mischiefs of mice and turns of turtles so why shouldn't there be douches of jerks? Perhaps she should consider this later. People were still staring and she was having trouble maintaining her focus.

She really ought to bail and call for help, but she just couldn't leave Irma. Then Keno rounded the corner, holding Irma in his arms. For a moment she just gaped in wonder. He must be stronger than his somewhat slight frame would imply, because while perfectly healthy, Irma was no waif.

Then the rational part of her mind stumbled forward enough to catch up with her perception and it occurred to her that this was not the most relevant observation at the moment. Keno had Irma. Irma was safe. And if his trajectory was any indication, they were heading towards her in the door. He paused in front of her for a moment.

"April are you ok?" "No." For a moment, she didn't quite recognize her voice. It sounded thick and slurred and she didn't like it. Was this how Leo felt when his voice never came back the same after the invasion? Not now! Pay attention to the situation at hand! Keno's mouth was pressed into a hard line and he appeared to be waiting for a response. Didn't she answer already?

"What?"

"I think we should leave."

"Yesh. Leaving good." Great. Now she sounded like a drunken cave woman. Time to get out of here. She turned to stagger towards the door and began to topple. Suddenly Keno was there beside her and shoulder to shoulder with him, she was able to balance herself. So carrying Irma and supporting her, he managed to get the three of them to the door.

Unfortunately, Keno's hands were full, so it was up to April to get them out. After taking an embarrassingly long time to sort out how to operate a doorknob, they were finally free. Until they made it to the sidewalk and Keno looked at her questioningly.

"Do you have somewhere to go?" Yes as a matter of fact she did. She wanted nothing more than to go home. Irma could come to. It would be like a sleepover. Why was he still staring? Wait, she'd forgotten to answer out loud. She rattled off what she hoped was her address and nearly tripped over her own feet when trying to set off. Perhaps walking home right now was a bad idea.

With more effort than should have been necessary, she wrestled her T-Phone out of her pocket and stared blankly at the screen, trying to remember how it worked. Then she pressed a few buttons at random and it began to ring. Success. Help was on the way. And the nausea hit. Shoving the device into Keno's hand as he shifted Irma to get a better grip, she immediately dashed off to the shrubbery.

* * *

Keno stared down at the ringing phone in his hand. It looked like a small turtle shell. He'd never seen anything like it before and he briefly wondered where she'd gotten it. Then, he crouched, so that he could set Irma on the ground and hold her one handed and thus actually use the phone. She was just as soft as he'd imagined but this was not how he'd envisioned finding out. The phone made it to his ear just as someone answered.

"Hey Red. What's up? I just finished practice."

"Uh hi?" The friendly voice turned hard in an instant.

"Who are you and where is April?"

"Puking in the bushes. She called this number just before that. If you're her friend, I could use some help getting her and Irma home." He didn't question or hesitate.

"Where?"

* * *

Donnie sat at his desk, trying to focus on the delicate work while Mikey spun in circles on the rotating metal stool behind him.

"Are you done yet?" He cringed. Wasn't this difficult enough given the limited fine dexterity of their large three fingered hands? Did he really need to listen to Mikey asking him if he was done every few minutes?

"How could this possibly have been so badly damaged? You entertain small children!"

"Tiny demons dude. They're amaze-balls at destruction. You have no idea."

Donnie just sighed and went back to repairing Mikey's costume turtle head. Seriously though, it looked like it had been caved in on the side. How could a group of seven year old children, even working together, produce enough force to do that? It defied physics.

Suddenly Casey burst into the lab and they both jumped. The mask went flying out of Donnie's startled hands and Mikey just barely ducked his head into his shell in time to avoid an extremely ironic injury. Casey didn't even seem to notice.

"I need the party wagon!"

"What why?"

"Let me find the keys."

They both answered simultaneously. Donnie waited for Casey to explain himself while Mikey started digging through his box of party equipment, as disorganized as ever.

"Something happened to April at a party and now she's sick and needs a pick up." Donnie's eyes widened.

"Sick?"

"Puking in the bushes."

"But I talked to her on the phone earlier and she seemed fine." Casey nodded.

"I know. Me too." Donnie frowned thoughtfully.

"Let me pack up some of my lab equipment and I'll come with you." Casey shook his head.

"She's with Irma and I assume Irma's boyfriend. Meet us at her apartment instead. I can start getting her home right away and it'll give you time to gather whatever you need to take care of her."

Donnie's logical mind conceded that Casey's plan was both sensible and solid but it still conflicted strongly with his protective instinct which demanded he rush off to help April immediately. But he managed to get himself under control and nodded.

Then Casey snatched the keys out of the air as Mikey tossed them his way and dashed off towards the party wagon. As he peeled off at top speed, Donnie started rushing around the lab gathering the tools he would need to run a wide panel of analytical tests on a blood sample.

"Mikey, I need you to help me move this to the Shellraiser and for the love of Darwin don't break anything!"

"Can do bro. Can do."

* * *

Casey drove faster than was strictly allowed or wise in New York traffic, but he could force his way through with the hutzpah of a veteran cabby when motivated. He'd considered, making a run straight for April's location immediately after the call but dismissed the initial urge for a variety of reasons.

One, if April was in any condition to use public transportation, she probably wouldn't have called, being her own special combination of proud and stubborn. So showing up with nothing but a MetroCard probably wasn't going to cut it.

Second the lab was so much closer to his arena than the party address that stopping for the party wagon was actually saving him time. Third, he wanted to be sure Donnie was in the loop. If anything was seriously wrong with April, Donnie could and would fix it. Casey never doubted that, ever.

His heart dropped into his stomach as he saw the line of brightly lit, flashing ambulances in front of the house. April! He pulled as close as he could without interfering with the paramedics and jumped out looking around wildly.

"Holy crap! Is that really your van?" He turned towards the sound of the vaguely familiar voice to see a youthful Asian man sitting on the sidewalk, holding Irma, who looked like she was asleep while a very green looking April leaned on the man's shoulder, trying not to dry heave.

"April!" Not caring that she looked like she was on a sea sick high, he ran, scooped her up and swung her around in relief that the ambulances weren't here for her. Then she lost the battle with the dry heaves and he ended up holding her over the bushes.

"Cashey…?" She managed to groan his name out in a slurred voice.

"Sorry."

"So you're Casey? I'm Keno." Casey gave Irma's man, Keno apparently, a brusque nod.

"Can we get the attention of some those paramedics?" Keno shifted uncomfortably.

"They're actually here for the guys April took down, mostly." Okay, maybe best not to draw the attention of any official authorities until they had this sorted out.

"Fine. Let's get them into the van and I'll get us back to April's place."

Keno looked back at the party wagon questioningly. It suddenly occurred to Casey that the vehicle's battle makeover made it completely out of place for any other use than Mikey's party business, but the roadster wouldn't have had enough seating and showing up in the Shellraiser would have been much more conspicuous.

Maybe he should use his dad's contacts to get the materials to start building his own relatively normal car. As normal as Donnie would allow once he got wind of the project. Well as long as it looked normal, he wouldn't turn up his nose at any James Bond style upgrades.

Keno carried Irma into the back and settled in among the chaos that was Mikey's business materials while Casey helped April buckle in to the front passenger seat, much to her irritation. She clearly would have swatted his hands away and done it herself if her own hands had been willing to obey her. Feeling some need to explain as he put the vehicle into drive, he craned his neck towards the back.

"It's my friend's van. He does entertainment for kid's parties."

"There's moldy cake back here."

"He's also a huge slob."

That seemed to suffice so Casey could concentrate on getting the party wagon to April's. He didn't like the condition April was in and needed Donnie to make it right. Oh and Irma too. Once April was fine.

Screeching to a halt, he parked illegally in the alley behind the equally illegally parked Shellraiser. Eh, Keno would be exiting the back so he wouldn't see it and if he had a problem with the park job he was welcome to keep it to himself.

April wouldn't allow herself to be carried, so Casey ended up helping her walk up the steps to the second floor apartment while Keno followed, clutching Irma protectively to his chest. Casey resisted the urge to shrug as he feared it would throw April off balance. There was no accounting for other people's taste.

Not wanting to wait as April attempted fumbling her keys out, he used his own key to get inside. He didn't need to worry about noise as he barreled in. Once Kirby took his sleep aids, he was out. A herd of elephants stampeding through the apartment couldn't wake him.

"I'll help April to her room. Why don't you set Irma on the couch? There are clean washcloths in the cupboard above the stove in the kitchen if you want to make her a cold compress or something."

Keno simply nodded as Casey made his way to April's room where Donnie and probably Mikey as well were undoubtedly waiting. Trusting Keno to be absorbed in caring for Irma, he pushed into April's room, making sure to quickly close the door behind him just in case. As expected the turtles were waiting impatiently.

He guided April to the bed and helped her lay down, then sat on the ground beside her and wrapped his arm around her shoulders. And then Donnie almost shoved him out of the way as he moved in to check April's vitals.

Mikey just stood in the background shifting nervously. Every time that it seemed like he was about to comment, Donnie would shoot him a glance and his jaw would snap shut. April was tolerating her exam better than Casey would have expected, probably because whatever was wrong with her seemed to inhibit her ability to fend off her friend's ministrations.

Finally Donnie sat back and paused in thought. April was more patient about waiting for Donnie's conclusion than she had been about being fussed over. Casey was not.

"Well, what's wrong with her?"

"Based on a preliminary examination, I'm leaning towards some kind of chemical exposure, but I'll need to draw some blood for analysis to confirm it and, if I'm right, identify the specific chemical compound. I have my toxicology kit in the Shellraiser." April held out her arm.

"Lesh do thish."

All three of them winced at the very unApril-like sound of her voice, but Donnie didn't hesitate. Casey wasn't a huge fan of needles, but if anyone had to jab one into his vein, he'd trust Donnie the most.

It never hurt nearly as much as he expected on the rare occasion that such medical intervention was required, although he'd never admit to anyone how averse he was to such a small, harmless thing. He risked broken bones for fun. He was Casey Jones and Casey Jones wasn't afraid of anything, least of which a needle. All the same, he looked away as Donnie drew the blood sample.

Donnie was out the window in an instant and April settled back into his arms. Mikey let out a relieved breath.

"Finally no more Mr. Grumpy Shell. So anyway, wait until I tell you guys about my last job. Little Timmy's seventh birthday party was totally off the hook!"

As usual Casey could only make sense of roughly half of what Mikey was saying. He leaned back and let Mikey's soothing babble take the edge off of what had turned out to be a royally sucky evening.

* * *

"Got it!" Casey snapped awake and felt April do the same as Donnie burst back into the room an indeterminate amount of time later.

"Oh hey D! You missed the best part of the story." Donnie didn't even dignify that with a response. Instead he rushed over to April's side.

"It seems you've ingested quite a bit of gamma-Hydroxybutyric acid." Casey freaked out as April furrowed her brow, as though trying to recall something important.

"She drank acid!" Donnie blinked, wide eyed at his panic. How could such a smart guy be so calm? What if it was eating through her entrails right now?

"It's not particularly caustic Casey. It's GHB." Not caustic? Did that mean not burny? Why couldn't Donnie speak English?

"GHB? You know, it's like Rohypnol." What? Why did he keep looking at him like he was supposed to understand him?

"The drinksh. Tashted funny. Then Irma shtarted acting…wrong." Donnie frowned.

"Irma too?" Casey nodded.

"I guess so, but she's not acting like April. She's just asleep. That guy, Keno, is taking care of her right now." Donnie nodded as though this made complete sense.

"Good. She might throw up without waking, so it's important that someone is with her. Actually, given the dose in April's system, she should be out like Irma. I'm thinking her partial Kraang physiology might be inhibiting the effects on her." Casey started putting the non-science words together. Something in the drinks to knock them out.

"So they got roofied?"

"Well, technically that term is used for Rophynol and they were given gamma…" Donnie paused as he realized what he was saying and his face became a mask of fury to match Casey's.

"Not accurate, but yes. That's what happened." Casey's hands curled into fists. When he found out who did this, they were never going to walk again. By Donnie's expression, he could tell he wasn't alone in this sentiment. Raph would understand if he had to team up with Donnie on this one.

"I gotsh em." They both startled and looked to April who was trying to control a giggle fit.

"Oh yeah. There were a bunch of ambulances for the guys Keno said you took down." She grinned and giggled a moment, before getting it under control.

"I'm proud of you Red, but that's not good enough." Surprisingly, her eyes turned deadly serious.

"No itsh not. How long sthill thish wearsh off?" Donnie tapped his chin thoughtfully for a second.

"Normally, it would be about another four or five hours, but with your unique physiology, it might be faster." She nodded unevenly.

"Good. Caush ash shoon ash I can, we're going afshter them. They areshn't getting away with thish."

Donnie grinned and nodded and Casey relaxed. If April and Donnie were coming after the perps with their tech-spy angle, then they were going down. Whatever she intended would probably hurt more than any beat down he could dole out and that was saying something.

If he ever ran into any of the jerks who did this, there was definitely going to be some broken bones and internal bleeding, but for now, he could leave it to April and Donnie. Those fools had messed with the wrong family.


	22. Chapter 21: Maturity II

**Maturity II:**

Radical caught sight the meditating turtle through her scope. The information she'd been given was spot in. Thus she didn't dare approach closer for fear of losing the element of surprise. She'd been told that the target had exceptional awareness. It was best to conduct this business from a distance in the cover of the jungle.

A single bullet would end the threat right now, but she'd been ordered to capture it alive, if possible. Which she preferred. The creature was magnificent and exotic. There was a deadly beauty to it that she could appreciate it. She'd rather destroy a work of art than annihilate this being.

Taking careful aim, she fired a single tranquilizer dart and the turtle's eyes snapped open in surprise as it embedded in its bicep. It yanked out the dart quickly and appeared to go back into a very focused meditation. What was that about?

Taking a deep breath, Radical seized the energy coursing through her body and focused it into her eyes and perception. The mysterious force that had been flowing around the turtle had now coalesced inward, chasing away the sedative that Radical could see as dark purple webbed lines in the creature's bloodstream. It was somehow purging the chemical out of itself. Well that wouldn't do. Good thing she'd come prepared.

Activating one of her flash bang grenades, she placed it in the sling launcher, built into her forearm armor and loosed it. Her opponent cried out in shock as the grenade exploded in a burst of violent light and sound a few feet in front of the turtle.

Radical didn't waste any time. She grabbed her stun bolas and swung them in circles over her head as she readied her next strike against her stunned opponent. Once these enwrapped the creature and electrocuted it, the fight would be over.

She released the bola but, to her shock, the turtle whipped out a pair of odd looking short swords and cut the bola out of the air. Its eyes snapped open again, revealing a glowing blue where there once had been dark brown. Interesting. Radical was curious. And since she was now reduced to manually applying the shock cuffs, she'd be able to satisfy that curiosity.

The turtle was charging towards her and she had to jump to avoid a series of thrown metal darts. The turtle was good. Very good. If not for the sedative and flash bang, it might have tagged her with one of those.

She drew her weapons in excited anticipation. They were her own custom make of war clubs. She'd designed their shape and size to mimic the traditional style, but made them from metal instead of wood, bone or stone.

While war clubs were technically more of a single weapon, her nod to tradition only went so far. Since she was fully capable of effectively dual wielding them, she saw no reason not to. They also had one other additional feature. She couldn't help smiling as the electricity coursing through her clubs caused them to hum to life.

The turtle was almost on her now. She blocked the first sword slash and the turtle screamed as her weapon's charged transferred to the metal blade. All the same, it still used the hooked bottom of the sword to rip one of the clubs out her hand before flipping back away from Radical. It then cautiously sheathed the swords and pulled out what looked like a knife on a string. Was the turtle really planning on attacking her with some kind of yo-yo?

Or maybe she should have taken it more seriously. The rope blade shot towards her, but it wasn't until after she'd dodged it that she realized she hadn't been the target. It wrapped around her remaining club. The rope was a poor conductor for her weapon's electric shock and so the turtle remained unharmed as it used its rope blade to tear her remaining war club out of her hand.

Well if the turtle thought that meant that this battle was over, it was in for a big surprise. Once more, Radical marshalled her energy. First she directed it into her perception, so that the next time the flying blade soared at her, she caught it effortlessly as though it had been coming at her in slow motion.

Then she transferred the energy into her muscles and yanked the startled turtle towards her, before plowing her knee into its midsection, hearing its plastron crack under the force of her strike.

Dividing her energy between enhancing her strength and speed, she unleashed a series of devastating blows, just as Lotus taught her, that the turtle just barely managed to continuously block. But there was no time for it to switch to the offensive and it would soon begin to tire. One mistake was all Radical needed.

And then she sensed another attack from someone else and just barely evaded the slash of a katana. Now an Asian man stood beside the turtle, his sword at the ready as he faced off with her. His long hair was tied back in a high ponytail, complementing his somewhat shorter beard and long mustache. She couldn't tell if he was a mystic hermit, lost mountain man or both.

In addition to his katana, she noted a pair of sickles tucked into his belt. Back up weapons? His presence would make things more challenging, but she still had the situation under control.

Until something about the man's unique energy began fusing with the turtle's, multiplying their collective power. Still injured, the effects of their pooled power seemed to rejuvenate the creature and it finally had a chance to draw its swords again.

The advantage was now decidedly against Radical. She couldn't take them both head on. Not like this. The mission was a failure. Cursing and using her power to shield herself, she threw down a combination flash bang/smoke screen bomb and disappeared into the thick foliage.


	23. Chapter 22: Guardians II

**Guardians II:**

With a deep breath Tora retracted his power back into himself while sheathing his sword and watched as the Qin clutch a hand painfully to her chest and fought not to sink down to one knee. She didn't entirely trust him, despite his timely intervention, and he respected that.

The blue glow faded from her eyes as she narrowed them at him in suspicion. She asked him a question but he didn't quite understand her dialect, despite his expansive knowledge of language.

"Who are you?" He was surprised to hear her switch to English, assuming she'd attempt more dialects of Chinese first. Interesting.

"Yoshida Tora." She raised a brow ridge.

"Are you Japanese?" He nodded with a smile.

"What gave it away?"

"You have an accent similar to someone else I know. Also, the way you introduced yourself with your surname first made me suspect."

He couldn't help but smile. Not many people caught on to that. Outside of Japan anyway. She took a breath, wincing as it clearly hurt.

"I am Qin Venus di Milo, adopted into the Hamato clan." Hmm, Hamato was a Japanese surname. That explained a bit.

"Venus di Milo?" She smiled ruefully.

"I changed it from Mei Pieh Chi at a pivotal moment in my life."

"I see. Well met."

"Not that I wish to sound ungrateful, but why and how did you help me?" From the direction of her gaze, he could tell that she was able to see his avatar, a spectral wolf, at his side. Impressive. Now he only had to present this right.

"Your abilities are impressive Qin. I wish to invite you to join my Order." Her eyes widened and she opened her mouth to answer, but he raised his hand.

"Hear me out. Please." She acquiesced.

"I owe you that much." He took another deep breath to center himself. It was unusual to speak so openly about his calling, but she needed to understand. Everything.

"I am an acolyte of the Tribunal."

"Tribunal?"

"It consists of five members, great and powerful, who train and empower the acolytes serving under them. The Tribunal was created four or five thousand years ago by the pantheons of old, not unlike the founding of your own line."

"Four or five thousand years ago?" He shrugged.

"Well, with the various civilizations of the time all using their own calendars, which of course had to change quite a bit due to wars and the general evolution of societies, placing an exact date to events already murky by the passage of time is difficult."

"Still a millennium is a bit of a range."

"Not for timeless beings."

"Very well, which pantheon established this order?"

"All of them."

"What?"

"The one and only thing they ever collaborated on. For good reason. Tears in the fabric of reality were pulling the world apart and allowing in dangerous…beings I suppose you can call them, from other worlds. A task force needed to be created and empowered to seal the breaks and deal with the invaders."

"And that is what you do."

"It is."

"But you said that you were an acolyte, not part of the Tribunal?"

"Correct. The Tribunal has been infused with great power, from beings whose influence in this world has waned. They are capable of great things, but using their abilities diminishes that well of power and once it is gone, it cannot be replaced. And so they tend to remain, outside the physical realm, in a place called the Lap of the Gods. From there they can share their essence with chosen students and followers without actually using up any of the source power."

"I can see why they would need to exercise caution. Is this the same Tribunal formed millennia ago then?" He shook his head.

"No. While in the Lap of the Gods, Tribunal members may exist indefinitely, but they do all long for their people and their homes and at some point will eventually retire their position to return, so the specific membership of the Tribunal has changed over time."

"And new members are drawn from the ranks of the acolytes?"

"Often, but sometimes a person ascends directly to the Tribunal. Not many have the potential for that responsibility and among them fewer still have the inclination to accept it. A great many talents simply have other purposes to their lives."

"I see and who was or is this Tribunal?"

"I'm not certain you'll know any of them, but the original Tribunal consisted of Gilgamesh, Medb, Kaknu, Hippolyta and Karna. You might know them from the mythology of the ancient world?"

Venus shook her head. Well, given her somewhat isolated circumstances, he really shouldn't be surprised. She likely didn't know anyone on the current Tribunal either, but he would tell her anyway, as she requested.

"Our present Tribunal boasts Brunhild, Musashi Miyamoto, Khutulun, Nzinga and Geronimo." From her expression, he could tell she wasn't familiar with a single one of them. He had to admit that he was a little disappointed the Musashi Miyamoto didn't garner any reaction. Oh well.

"And what of you then?"

"Under normal circumstances, acolytes like myself can travel to the Lap of the Gods to train under the best in both physical and metaphysical skills. It is a rare opportunity." He could see her eyes light up with interest at that.

"Additionally, we receive, power and a guardian avatar through which special traits within ourselves are enhanced."

"The wolf is your avatar?"

"As well as my guide and my friend. The wolf represents teamwork and loyalty. That's how I was able to bind our powers together into a new, stronger whole, united against our common foe."

"Who was your enemy because?"

"She attacked you and I hope to recruit you." He waited as Venus took a moment to absorb this.

"If you defend the world against supernatural threats, where were you when the Dragonlord rose?" He could tell she was working very hard not to make her tone accusatory, but it was still there and he couldn't deny the pain her question unleased, even if he had been expecting it at some point.

"We did go to join the battle, but were drawn into a trap and ambushed. There are very few of us left now. I'm sorry you had to face that alone." She smiled sadly.

"I wasn't alone. And it's not fair to hold that against you. The responsibility wasn't yours to carry anyway."

"I know, after the burdens left to the descendants of Qin, chaining yourself to our cause might not be appealing, but we could truly use you and you have much you could learn about your own abilities." He could see how the opposing desires conflicted within her.

"I…I will need time. Time to consider your offer."

"I understand."

Summoning a bit of his energy, into a small glowing orb in his palm, her transferred it to her hand where it absorbed into her aura. If you choose to aid us, you can summon me or the nearest remaining acolyte by willing it so. Like calls to like."

Then, not wanting to pressure her, he turned and disappeared into the jungle.


	24. Chapter 23: Balanced II

**Balanced II:**

Venus trudged back towards the monastery, sluggish from the tranquilizer that hadn't been completely purged from her system, somewhat disoriented from the violent explosions and trying to block out her many physical aches and pains, not least of which the blow to her chest. At least it wasn't an open wound. No one here would know how to treat and repair her plastron. As it was, it just hurt but would heal fine on its own.

But all these were secondary concerns. Her mind was reeling with everything she had learned, bouncing back and forth between the Tribunal's potentially life altering offer and the assassin equipped by the EDF. While the woman might not had anything labeled with the organization, her brother Slash belonged to the EDF and kept in frequent contact with his family, so she hadn't been able to help noticing the style and design of their equipment over the years.

Why would the EDF be after her? More importantly how would they know about her and that they should look for her here. This sanctuary was supposed to be a secret to the all the world. The only outsider who even knew its location was Donatello.

Donatello. She needed to speak to him. Immediately. It would be the middle of the night in New York, but that shouldn't be a problem. It wasn't uncommon for him to work until dawn before realizing that he had forgotten to sleep. He needed to hear about the Tribunal and the EDF assault. They'd figure this out together, just as they always did.

Lost in thought, she barely acknowledged the other monks as she pushed through the gate and into the courtyard. For a second she paused and just took in the idyllic scene of her brother playing with his young son. Then her nephew noticed her.

"Auntie!" With a shriek of joy, he ran to her and leapt into her arms. She tried not to cringe in pain as she caught him, but knew that she'd failed when she saw the expression on her brother's face.

"What happened?" Before answering, she gently set her nephew down.

"Auntie could use a cup of tea. Could you do me a big favor? I need you to run down to the kitchens and ask them to put a kettle on for me." The child nodded solemnly as he accepted the task with grave determination and Venus had to fight not to grin until after he'd run off.

"Sister?" Back to reality.

"The EDF sent an agent after, but whether she meant to kill me or capture me is unclear."

"The Earth Defense Force? How would they know to look for you here? How could they know about the monastery? This place is hidden. Secret." She sighed.

"I don't know. I will find out. I promise you."

"You don't think he betrayed you?" With great will, she managed to suppress the tide of fury that threatened to unleash itself upon her brother. While he'd ultimately and somewhat reluctantly accepted him, apparently he still harbored some mistrust.

"Donatello would never. But he does need to know about this. I must speak with him at once."

A loud crash drew both of their attentions to the stone garden to the far side of the courtyard. Venus saw her sister-in-law disappear back into the window before realizing the shattered heap of computer parts on the tiles below had once been her satellite video phone. Why would she do this? How was Venus to contact Donatello now?

Her brother was already racing into the building and forgetting her injuries, she pushed herself to follow. They caught Quiyue partway down the stairs from Venus's room and her sister gaped at her in utter disbelief.

"How are you still here? You should be gone?" Venus gasped as her chest seared with a new pain, completely unrelated to the injury to her plastron.

"Quiyue? You reported me to the EDF?"

"They were supposed to have gotten rid of you! My family should be free of you!"

She couldn't speak. She knew that her sister-in-law had never quite adjusted to having a mythical creature in the family, but she'd never realized how deep the hatred had run. Apparently, neither had Da-Huan who was now looking at his wife like she was a complete stranger as he spoke.

"You compromised the safety of our sacred temple, just so that you could rid yourself of my sister?"

"That thing is not your sisters! It is a monster! And the EDF promised to be discrete with our location."

Her brother looked like he might be sick as he considered the potential consequences of Quiyue's actions. Venus knew them too, but was in no position to aid him. The only thing she could do to help now was leave. She needed to get home anyway. Fast. Now that she found herself unable to contact Donatello or any of the Hamato clan, she felt a deep well of worry.

"Da-Huan…"

"I know. They'll keep coming for you here. You must go."

"I don't know if I'll be able to return."

"I understand."

"Please say goodbye to Zhiqiang for me? I don't think he will understand."

"He will someday and no matter what happens, he won't forget you."

She turned and rushed from the stairwell, leaving her poor brother to figure out how to protect his sacred responsibility and deal with the broken shards of his family. She needed to find a way back to hers. Huojin had come from a more worldly region before joining the order. She needed to seek him out. Perhaps he could arrange to get her on a plane back to New York.

* * *

Donnie sat back in his computer chair as the threads of all of his and April's labors came together. It had almost been too easy. April and Irma had gone to the police to report the incident, which had given April a chance to pick up some usernames and passwords. Whether she'd managed it with her psychic abilities or more classic slight-of-hand, she'd never said.

He knew how they got the system log in information for Sacks Incorporated because he had been instrumental in that. All April had needed was radio software on her on her laptop, an amplifier and a powerful antenna, his own design, while hanging out where many of their employees stopped to eat lunch for an afternoon.

Phone companies really should do something about their voice commands being almost the same frequency as radio waves. It was way too easy to bypass even the security of a locked phone that way. All April had needed to do was sit by people using their headphone cables and she could use their phones voice commands to control their digital assistants.

His T-Phones certainly didn't have that flaw. Of course, he also memorized all of his critical information, so that he didn't need to keep it written down or on a phone to recall it but it probably seemed reasonable for people sick of getting locked out because they forgot their usernames or passwords.

With their intel, they'd struck simultaneously. Donnie had personally designed the spyware. He'd broken into Sack's labs while she'd taken the police station. All they had to do was use the log in info and install the software. Nothing like complaining users to get system admins to ease up on their control restrictions. With that he'd been able to navigate both systems at will remotely.

Among the police, he'd found an entire set of ongoing assaults by Will Sacks and friends reported but shelved by a few key superiors. As irritating as it was that the rape kits were allowed to remain untested in evidence, just collecting dust, he'd been pleased with the fact that they hadn't been destroyed. They'd play an important role when this whole thing blew up.

Once he knew who he needed to look at, finding financial evidence of the bribes Eric Sacks had paid was simple. April had taken the story and evidence to several media muckrakers while he had reported it to Internal Affairs.

Meanwhile, he'd caught Sack's doctoring the data on a lot of his research. You'd think with how perfect the numbers always were, someone would have suspected. He'd sent those on to April's reporters in the guise of a whistleblower before sharing them with appropriate government agencies. There was no way Sacks, either one, was going to worm out of this bind. Checkmate.

He was proud of what they'd done. All the same it did lack some satisfaction. At times like this he could really appreciate Raph's philosophy of punching the evil out of criminals. Pounding these jerks to a pulp, while not necessarily a long term solution, would have made him feel a lot better about the whole thing.

With a sigh, he turned off his computer monitor, knowing that he should get some sleep. But maybe if he stayed up a bit longer, Venus would call. This was the third night that he hadn't spoken to her and he was running out of ways to rationalize the sudden drop off in communications.

No. There was no way he could sleep yet. His mind would only keep him up, enumerating the less pleasant reasons why he suddenly wasn't hearing from her and he desperately needed to block those out.

There were some security upgrades he'd been considering for the lair's perimeter. Maybe now was a good time to get started on those. Yes, it definitely was. He turned the monitor back on and hunched over the keyboard as he pulled up his schematics for review. Yes, sleep could come later. He had things to do.


	25. Chapter 24: On the Run II

**On the Run II:**

Kurtzman hummed excitedly to himself as he hauled the card board storage box, his third load, from his car to his office. Oh what treasures would he find? The discovery was more than fortuitous. It was fate.

He'd driven out to Boston to leave some information for Muckman at their prearranged dead drop. While it was useful that Joe could communicate with him in code under the cover of being just another user on one of the many conspiracy message boards that he frequented, he always wondered how.

Joe might be small, but he was still a nightmarish eyeball creature. How was he able to use public computers without anyone noticing and causing a panicked stampede? Well as long as he managed while Muckman was intentionally spotted elsewhere, their system would keep working without raising suspicion. But that was beside the point.

His cover for the trip was checking out the Beldare University library for leads and connections. On his way out, he'd hit the jackpot. The University was clearing out some old storage to reclaim the space for some useful purpose or another and they were just throwing it away. What a waste. Imagine his surprise when he'd realized what it was. Inventions from the lab of Professor Zayton Honeycutt.

He'd seen them many years ago when he'd gone to interview the man whose cutting edge technology was going to be the future. Until he'd vanished that was. It was a mystery that Jack had never been able to solve and continued to haunt him in his free time.

However if the university didn't want this stuff, he figured there was no harm in him taking it. Aside from the laws against rooting around in other people's garbage. But as he saw it, he was just being environmentally friendly, not letting this stuff end up in a landfill. And now it was his.

He knocked over a stack of journals and collected newspaper clippings to make room for the final box on his desk. Now all he needed to do was reassemble it just as he saw it long ago. And hope it still worked.

~4 hours later~

"Well, it kind of looks like it."

The enormous and weighty CRT monitor was hooked up to a massive metal box of computer innards, an old keyboard, a CB radio and one of those old VHS camcorders designed to break your shoulder for trying to carry it. Only one way to find out both if it worked and what it did. Taking a deep breath, he plugged it in and watched in wide eyed anticipation as it powered up.

* * *

Fugitoid stared at his controls in disbelief. Incoming transmission? How could that be possible? He was supposed to be cloaked and off of all communications radars. There was something about this signal though. Something familiar.

It was his! Or Honeycutt's. The intergalactic communicator that had been built…before. But without anyone to communicate with, it had never been tested, so he didn't know if the projector had been powerful enough.

Well it probably had been since the test messages that he'd sent out had likely attracted General Blanque's people in the first place. He shuddered in his metallic body as he fought to shut the memory down. Once the thought was properly locked away, he could return to the task at hand.

Who would be contacting him on his own equipment? Or Honeycutt's equipment? The distinction between the two was there but still unclear to him. Uncertain, but curious, he opened the link. The screen filled with the grainy image of an older human man. Someone familiar, that he couldn't quite place. But he'd seen this man before. Possibly.

"Gads a robot!"

"Identify yourself."

"Ahem. Jack J. Kurtzman."

"Where are you contacting me from? Why are you contacting me? And how did you manage to contact me?"

"Um, you are?"

"You can call me Fugitoid. Answer me."

"Are you in outer space? Are those windows behind you? It looks like outer space outside the windows." Fugitoid sighed.

"Yes I'm in outer space. Now answer!" The man considered for a moment before shrugging.

"I'm on the planet Earth. Uh, I didn't know I was contacting you. I just got my hands on this vintage tech and was trying it out. I didn't even know what it did."

The video moved off of the man as it panned around the immensely crowded office full of papers to turn to the equipment. Honeycutt's equipment. Fugitoid moved his hand to rub the bridge of his nose, a leftover habit from Honeycutt, only to recall that he didn't have one.

"You're lucky I caught the message and not one of countless other unpleasant things out here that you don't want to attract the attention of. Wait! You said that you're on Earth?" The man nodded.

"I have to warn you! That's why I'm no my way to Earth. There's an alien invasion coming. You have to…"

"Holy Toledo!"

He never got a chance to finish. As he'd started talking, he'd noticed a bit of black smoke that rapidly moved from subtle to impossible-not-to-notice, causing him to lose Mr. Kurtzman's rapt attention as the man cried out and dove for something off screen just as the transmission cut out. Well it might not be the best help, but at least they knew that danger was approaching. If only he'd been able to tell them more.

* * *

Bishop glanced up as Kurtzman burst through his office door to the apologies of the agent serving as his secretary.

"Unless you've located the garbage mutant I'm probably not interested."

After several, similar past burst-ins with false alarms about the illuminati, mind control fluoridation, airplane chemtrails and online subliminal advertising, he approached Kurtzman's concerns with a great deal of skepticism.

"An alien invasion is coming!" That raised his radar, but he held himself back. This was Kurtzman after all.

"And how do you know this?" Kurtzman, seeming to recall that his credibility was on thin ice, took a second to collect himself before continuing.

"When I went to Boston, I found and…borrowed some old equipment belonging to that missing scientist, Professor Honeycutt, that the University was just going to throw away. I didn't know what it was, but when I turned it on, it connected me to a robot on a space ship somewhere and it warned me that aliens were coming to invade Earth. In fact it was supposed to be on its way here to help us. And yes, I know how that sounds, but I'm serious. We can't afford to ignore this."

He wanted to. Dear God did he want to, but he could feel the memories of his own abduction encroaching on the edges of his mind.

"Well, what details do you have then? When will the invasion arrive? What aliens are attacking? What are their numbers or weapons? Do they have any weaknesses?" Kurtzman cringed.

"It was starting to tell me when the communication machinery fried." Bishop sighed. As insane as this sounded he really couldn't afford to not investigate. He knew better than anyone that the stakes were too high.

"Get that junk down to the lab immediately and be prepared to tell everything you know about it."

"Yes sir!" Kurtzman rushed out of his office slamming the door behind him. Bishop picked up his phone and dialed Dr. Chaplin.

"Sir?"

"Kurtzman's coming down with some old tech that needs to be repaired ASAP. Tell Stockman and Lillja to drop everything they are doing and meet him at the entrance."

"Understood sir."

* * *

Lonae gaped at her screen in amazement. The shock, for a brief blessed moment, alleviated the incessant maddening itching in her horns from the withdrawal. Somehow her communication terminal had caught it. The Fugitoid knew of the invasion and was trying to warn the Earthlings. She should report this. For the Empire.

But since their homeworld had been obliterated, it had been so difficult to get what she needed. And she was dying without it. She couldn't help but pull up the bounty on Fugitoid that the D'Hoonibans had broadcasted. They could get her what she needed, in great supply.

As loyal as she was to her people and terrified as she was of General Blanque and his elite unit, the Sons of Silence, she needed this. She needed more Xemorene. Pushing aside the gnawing guilt, she sent out a discrete message to General Blanque. The Empire forgive her, she needed this.


	26. Chapter 25: Professional I

**Professional I:**

Aditi Mattu sat in her jungle encampment with the tools of her trade arrayed around her, deciding which to take, which to leave behind and, of the ones she was taking, in what ways she would equip them. In her line of work, having the right tool in the right place at the exact right moment could mean everything.

The ritual of preparation was just as important as the actual mission. And once all the decisions were made, the actual process of equipping was a Zen-like opportunity to clear her mind of all distractions and focus on the task in front of her.

After her earlier encounter, still swirling around in her head, she badly needed that. She'd run into him by accident when she'd gone into the EDF headquarters for her briefing. The man she'd never expected to see again.

* * *

~30 hours earlier~

Aditi turned a corner and they would have collided if not for both of their catlike reflexes. She hadn't recognized him at first and it wasn't merely the passage of time. Much of his face was now obscured by burns that he displayed boldly and without shame. But when he spoke, there was no mistaking that voice.

"Lotus Blossom?"

She could see it now in his one undamaged eye and could feel it in his presence, still as intense and powerful as it had been back then. It nearly took her breath away, but she was no longer the winsome and spirited youth that she'd once been.

"Oroku Saki."

"It's been a long time. I didn't know you worked for the EDF."

"It has. And I contract out."

"Yes, being freelance would suit you wouldn't it?"

"It does. Although I wouldn't think that being a subordinate of Director Bishop would suit you." He responded with a low and slightly bitter chuckle. But she stood by her statement.

When they'd last met, he'd been an impressively gifted ninja with the Hamato clan. Their employer had hired both her and his clan for the mission and while she had disdained the arrangement at first, preferring to work alone, he'd blown all her expectations away. And earning her respect, even in her youth, perhaps especially in her youth, was not a thing easily done.

But he'd been so dour, serious and well…morose that, after their mission was complete, she did something she'd never done before and had never done since. She'd invited him out drinking with her to celebrate their victory.

At the time, it seemed only his lack of interest in returning home had motivated him to agree. But she'd had to know how such a powerful, and dare she say attractive, man could not be exultant in his skill and success.

A few drinks in he'd revealed the sad tale that the love of his life had just married a man he'd once cherished as a brother, someone he'd believed that he could trust implicitly, a mistake he'd paid dearly for.

She'd found the whole situation such a waste of a desirable man that several drinks later, she'd pursued him herself. And it had been everything she'd expected and more. They'd parted amicably the following morning and she'd fully anticipated never seeing him again. Which had been the case. Until now.

If this was going to occur more often, she might find herself in the awkward position of having a lot of explaining to do. But how such a man could have ended up here eluded her. Despite her caution and better judgement, she could not contain her curiosity.

"I mean it Saki. How did you end up in the EDF?" For a moment, she thought he might not answer, but eventually he sighed and spoke.

"The short version would be that I did not heed your advice. I wish you success on your mission."

With that he stepped aside and walked passed her as her blood pumped hard and loud through her veins. It had been over two decades since their last encounter. How could he still have such an effect on her?

* * *

She snapped her last weapon into place and rolled up the remainder of her tools to stuff back into her duffle bag. She'd just zipped it up and was about to tuck it away when she sensed his presence approaching the boundary of their encampment behind her.

"Well?"

"You're assessment was correct. We will need to take down the watcher first before we can pursue our true targets."

"And my plan?"

"I agree. He is a predator. I can smell it on him. You have chosen a good strategy."

She turned and eyed Tiger Claw warily. Generally, she worked alone and ordinarily they would only have been sharing transport and coordinating enough not to interfere with each other, but the presence of the watcher changed things.

There were worse people in the business to work with. Tiger Claw had been one of the few colleagues that she respected. For a brief moment, she wondered whatever happened to the Headhunter. It was hard to imagine someone like her getting caught or killed, but in this business that's generally what one had to assume about a person who disappeared without a trace for three years.

Of course, to an extent, so had Tiger Claw although she now knew what happened to him. The EDF. It surprised her, though not as much as Saki's presence there. Perhaps in time she'd find the Headhunter there as well, hard as that was to believe. But that wasn't why she eyed her partner so carefully now.

When she'd known him before, he'd been confident and proud to the point of arrogance. Now he seemed edgy and a bit unsure and she did not like it. There was more going on here than she knew. She would sort it out, but that would have to wait until later.

"Good. Let's go eliminate the obstacle."

* * *

Faraji marked the locations on his map. They'd finally split up again after liberating the final encampment. Maybe it was a sign of his own soft heartedness that he'd allowed them to finish their work before approaching them. After the invasion and all the human suffering he'd been forced to witness in his line of work, he wouldn't have thought there was any softness left in him.

In the jungle, where his avatar roamed, he could sense the approach of an intruder through his lion's senses. Whoever the fool was, he or she had no clue what they were getting themselves into. A master of stealth, cloaking himself in his environment, he all but vanished from view, allowing his avatar to stalk his predator come prey for him as he closed the distance. His mission was too important to allow anyone to derail it.

A tiger man. It raised his hackles as he went into pure battle focus. This wasn't an accident. This was a hit. This thing had been one of their allies. A traitor to all life on Earth. He would avenge his fallen comrades and the tiger man would pay dearly for his crimes. The beast was completely unaware of his presence. And now it would die.

Faraji drew his enormous, two handed great sword and burst forth from the foliage, prepared to skewer the tiger man, who just barely, driven by animal instinct, twisted out of the way while drawing his own machete-like blade. Faraji did manage a shallow slice into his side on that thrust.

As his blade swished passed his opponent, he ducked a slash from the tiger's sword and turned his crouch into a spinning attack intended to cleave the cat man in twain at that waist. But it leapt up and flicked backwards, while striking his sword down with its own to deflect it just enough to miss.

Faraji finished the spin and came around again, slashing upwards this time, but the tiger narrowly leaned aside out of the trajectory of the strike as his foot lashed out to kick Faraji in the gut. But Faraji anticipated the move and brought the pommel of his sword down hard on the tiger's shin, eliciting a growl of pain as the beast staggered backwards. And now for the finishing blow.

Then something metallic struck him hard in the shoulder, embedding deep with three wide prongs clamping down. As he turned to rip it out, his eyes sought out the source of the assault.

In the distance, crouched on the branch of a large tree was a dark eyed East Indian woman, in combat garb, with her thick black hair pulled back in a bun. She was still looking at him through the scope of some kind of strange sniper rifle as his hand closed on the projectile in his shoulder.

Then she pressed a button on the gun and a violent wave of electricity burst out of it, rapidly engulfing his entire body in burning agony. With a scream of pain and anger, everything went dark.

* * *

"How's the shin?" Tiger Claw shrugged.

"I wear armor around my shins under my pants, so it was mostly an act to provide you your opportunity. I gave him the opening, but it was still lucky that he took it, good trap or not." After a moment of her waiting for him to continue, he growled.

"If you think that I am going to reveal the location of all my hidden armor, you are sorely mistaken." She shrugged.

"Fair enough."

She looked down at the unconscious man as she retrieved her shock dart. He was tall and strong with rich brown skin and short, close-cut hair. And he was very young for someone with such skill. It intrigued her. In the absence of any orders to kill, she decided to spare him. It would be interesting to see how he fared in their next encounter.

But since she couldn't have him regaining consciousness and interfering, she cuffed him around one of the roots of a very sturdy looking tree and injected him with a dose of tranquilizer. Tiger Claw had hung back allowing her to make the call and didn't comment on her choice. Thanks to the young man's map, they now knew their target's locations.

"It's done. We know they've split up. Go after your quarry, I've got a serpent to capture." He gave her a curt nod and disappeared into the jungle, a benefit of his natural camouflage. She smiled in anticipation. Let the hunt begin.


	27. Chapter 26: Just II

**Just II:**

Leo sighed in relief as he trailed the last group of liberated villagers home, keeping hidden in the cover of the jungle. Aside from addressing a military unit several miles to the north that had been sent to defend the mining operation, they were about done. One final confrontation, in which they needed to convince any outsiders that nothing was worth returning here for, and then he could start worrying about arranging transportation back to New York.

They'd be a few weeks ahead of schedule, so it would be fun to surprise his family. Honestly, he couldn't wait to see everyone, particularly Raph. Insane as it might seem, no matter how much they drove each other crazy, Raph was the sibling that he was closest to.

Mikey was the baby of the family whom they all felt the need to protect, although no one would dare say that to his face. Don was amazingly brilliant and worthy of respect, but really no one besides April and Venus truly understood him.

Raph, on the other hand, despite all their near constant and intense fights, had been his best friend and greatest rival growing up. The one he could count on to check his mistakes, be brutally honest when he needed to hear the truth or truly challenge him in sparring. They might have huge, blow out arguments, but when it came down to it, Raph always had his back.

It might have been true that they'd grown away from each other a bit in the last few years but some bonds could never be broken. Whenever he left home, the initial relief of having a break from his nearest brother rapidly faded into despondency.

It didn't help that, of all his brothers, Raph lived the most dangerously, so Leo always worried when they were apart. But he supposed that was fair, as he suspected it ran both ways. It was probably why Raph laid off the aggression for nearly the first week after each of his returns and, for a brief time, the lair knew some peace and contentment. Yes, it would be good to be home.

Suddenly he froze as a combination of instinct, training and experience warned him of danger. There was a threat hidden out in the forest, different than the general danger that was ever present in the jungle. Something specific and targeted. Something after him.

One final glance at the villagers told him they would likely make it home in one piece. This set had more capable woodsmen than the others and one or two natural leaders. Right now the greatest danger to them was the one after him. The best thing that he could do to protect them was lead it away.

His course of action decided, he quickly turned away from his charges and rushed deeper into the forest, leaping from limb to limb in the high branches of the upper canopy. Unless he hit a major gap, it was the fastest way to cover ground.

His pursuer knew that they had been spotted and now abandoned all subtlety. He could hear the quiet roar of an engine as his attacker closed the distance between them. It was a familiar sound, though one he hadn't heard in years. Tiger Claw's jet pack.

He didn't have time to wonder how or why Tiger Claw was after him or dwell on the faint scar on his carapace, still fading from their last encounter. Barely avoiding the first volley of laser blasts, he dove head first under the main canopy, catching a branch, to slow his descent as he flipped to the forest floor.

Limited light made the vegetation less thick than he would have desired but it, together with the many trees, would make it difficult for Tiger Claw to fly. At least he would need to stand and fight.

Blasts of ice pierced the canopy as Tiger Claw dropped down to face him and Leo needed to flip back several times to avoid being frozen. As he did so, he unleased several shruiken in the hopes of disarming his opponent, but Tiger Claw deflected them all, using the barrels of his firearms to protect his hands with a series of swift, accurate motions.

Chunks of forest exploded around him, as Leo ran the perimeter of their battle, dodging laser fire. Not good. He needed to get in close and nullify the advantage of Tiger Claw's ranged weapons.

Ripping off his cloak and attaching it to a kunai, he threw the decoy towards Tiger Claw's laser side, allowing it to be incinerated, while he bolted in from the other direction. As Tiger Claw unleashed a blast of ice at him, he snatched up a chunk of decaying tree and tossed it out ahead of him. When Tiger Claw's blast froze it, he smashed through it with his katana, sending a distracting hail of ice shards towards his opponent in advance of his own attack.

Tiger Claw dropped his guns and tore his own cloak free, using it to whip away the frozen projectiles while his other hand drew his sword, which he brought up just in time to block Leo's first attack and then down again to deflect the second strike. Tiger Claw had always been blindingly fast, but Leo could see his own progress in the nearness with which his second strike almost landed.

Tiger Claw followed up the parry with a powerful side kick that Leo evaded with a vertical jump. For an instant his feet touched Tiger Claw's shin, which he noted was armored for future reference, before he pushed off and forward to either thrust his twin katana into Tiger Claw's throat, knee him in the face or both.

But Tiger Claw arched backwards and caught him in the lower back of his shell with a bicycle kick. Leo rocketed forward, but controlled his landing with a twisting forward somersault so that he skidded to a halt facing Tiger Claw. The feline assassin smiled at him.

"You've improved turtle cub." Leo let the backhanded compliment flow passed him, refusing to let Tiger Claw get under his shell.

"But you are still not good enough to take me down and you won't get any more lucky hits like you did before." Leo circled him cautiously, studiously ignoring his words, waiting for an opening that wasn't obviously a trap.

"I'll finish with you long before Karai is taken down." Leo gasped as that broke through his resolve, but otherwise he managed to keep his expression neutral, refusing to give anything away. Tiger Claw might not really know about Karai. He might be fishing.

"We know she's at the mine." Or not. But Karai was skilled, incredibly so. Tiger Claw of all people should know that she would never go down easy.

"She is good, but no match for the Lotus Blossom. I don't think even the Headhunter could defeat her."

That froze Leo's blood. Karai was being hunted by an assassin of Aunt Amaya's caliber? That would put this Lotus Blossom in Sensei's league. He'd watched Aunt Amaya and Master Splinter spar on rare occasion and it was breathtaking. Because they were on his side. As an enemy, such power would be terrifying. He needed to end this now and back Karai up. There was no time.

Throwing down one of his limited supply of smoke bombs, Leo vanished in a purple haze, darting out right and then pivoting back around to come at Tiger Claw from behind. To his shock, his opponent had anticipated the move and countered with a similar technique as Leo swung his blades into an empty cloud of black smoke. He'd allowed himself to be baited into a reckless attack.

Sensing Tiger Claw behind him, in likely a copy of his own maneuver, he spun just in time to catch Tiger Claw's blade with both of his swords. For the moment they were in a stalemate, but he had the nagging suspicion that Tiger Claw might be stronger than him and that he wouldn't be able to hold their deadlock for long.

As Leo weighed his options, Tiger Claw smiled and something fired out of his wrist bracer, splatting onto Leo's plastron. As soon as he smelled it and heard the sizzling, he recognized the substance as Spider Byte's acid although he had no clue how Tiger Claw would possess it.

He'd seen the stuff eat through solid steel in seconds. With a burst of panicked adrenaline, he shoved Tiger Claw back and threw himself onto the forest floor, frantically scraping the corrosive ooze off with handfuls of dry leaves.

As the alarm abated, he realized that being prone right now could have disastrous consequences. He tried to roll away to his feet, but it was already too late. Tiger Claw was on him almost as soon as he made the realization, plowing his full weight onto the back of Leo's shell and embedding him face first into the pliant rainforest soil.

Before Leo could attempt to throw him, Tiger Claw brought the pommel of his sword down hard on his skull. Leo felt an instant of intense pain exploding at the back of his head before everything went dark.

* * *

"Do you undersssstand?"

The man she held against the wall quivered in fear as she allowed her features to morph partway between woman and snake, hissing intentionally. Her eyes were currently green with slit shaped pupils and her fangs clearly visible as she spoke. The hand, not used to hold him up, was poised and ready to strike, slowly and horrifyingly transforming into the head of a serpent.

He let out a strangled cry and fainted. How boring? She didn't even get to have any fun with this one. With a derisive sniff, Karai released her grip, dropping him to the floor like a sack of garbage.

So much for the mining company hiring people who could resist interrogation. She hadn't even started and that weakling would probably have nightmares for the rest of his life. It was no less than he deserved, but disappointing all the same.

Sensing danger, she jerked back just in time to evade a metal projectile that lodged into the wall just passed her, clamps burrowing into the wood. Drawing her jujiken and a handful of shruiken, she spun to face her assailant.

She always went armed, although she couldn't access her weapons in her other form. They embedded within her in scale protected pockets but it was a comfort to know that they were there regardless of whether or not she could make us of them.

Out of the office window, she could see a woman with a custom rifle perched on the branch of a tree, quite some distance away. Karai unleashed the shruiken, but the woman was gone, leaving only a falling gun as the throwing stars embedded into the empty branch.

Feeling constrained in the office, Karai jumped through the window, caught the upper frame and flipped herself up onto the roof. From her new vantage point, she scanned her surroundings, her serpent vision perfectly adapted to detect movement.

She didn't see anything. Surely the woman couldn't have covered such a great distance in such a short amount of time. Could she? Cautiously, Karai approached the edge of the roof on the side where she'd last seen the woman. Glancing over the edge, she saw nothing. She carefully made her way to the next roof ledge to her right.

Just as she looked over, her assailant launched herself upwards toward Karai. She barely had time to block the woman's saber with her jujiken when she saw the dagger coming for her head. She ducked it right into a kick to her midsection that sent her sprawling backwards.

But she turned the fall into a backwards roll, stopping on her feet with some distance between them. Karai eyed her opponent warily, assessing her. Aside from the blades, the woman had a kind of synthetic version of chainmail body suit armor. There were a variety of mysterious items attached to it that Karai could only assume were weapons. Too many unknowns. She needed to be cautious.

After they'd both had less than a second to size each other up, Karai threw down a smoke bomb between them, coming at her opponent from an angle, but staying just out saber range. Instead of attacking, Karai broke open a packet on her wrist and blew the blinding powder where the woman's face should be before darting behind her with the intent of burying her jujiken into her attacker's spine.

But the woman's dagger stabbed through her palm, forcing her to drop her jujiken while she twisted and dove into a sideways roll to avoid being run through with the saber. When she regained her footing she could see that the woman had some kind of clear face mask, probably activated the moment the smoke bomb went off.

No more playing around. She morphed into full mutant snake mode, but the woman didn't even bat an eye. She'd known about this form. How? When Karai defeated her she would get her answers.

Karai surged forward, attacking with her serpent-headed hands, which the woman evaded with a series of back flips, but she hadn't anticipated that Karai could elongate her arms and barely deflected the last two strikes with her saber and dagger, the blades skidding harmlessly off of Karai's scales.

And while her opponent was busy fending off her hands, she failed to notice Karai's tail whip around from behind. In an instant the woman was wrapped in her coils, disarmed as Karai's fanged hands bit through her armor, injecting a low dose of poison to ensure her victim didn't expire before she could be properly interrogated. The woman glared up at her and Karai tightened her coils threateningly.

"Who sent you and why?" The woman's glare transformed into a smile, which perturbed Karai. She should already be feeling the effects of the venom. Then, out of the armored plates overlaying the woman's arms, hips and thighs ejected clusters of needle sharp barbs, piercing Karai's scales. Trap!

Karai released the woman and slithered back, but it was too late. Whatever she'd been injected with was already taking effect. Her motions were slow and uncoordinated and her vision was becoming blurry. As the woman retracted her porcupine-like spikes, she crossed her arms patiently, clearly unaffected by Karai's venom.

"You know, the man who reported you sent enough of the venom samples you so generously left for us to prepare a temporary antidote. Very sloppy snake girl."

Karai narrowed her eyes and tried to curse the woman but her mouth no longer worked right and all she managed was a low hiss. She needed to escape, flee before…

Overpowered by the massive dose of sedative, Karai couldn't even finish the thought before her consciousness failed her.

* * *

Exhausted, Aditi hauled her prey back into camp. The unconscious serpent was currently bound in metal cable and plugged full of shock darts, insurance against her waking prematurely. She found Tiger Claw waiting for her, seated on a turtle shell as he examined a pair of katana. The head, arm and leg holes of the shell were sealed with thick metal clamps and the whole ensemble was bound in the same metal cable that she'd trussed the serpent up with.

"Is that really necessary?"

"I have waited a long time to avenge myself against this one."

"Not worried that it will suffocate before we deliver it?" He tapped the head plate.

"There are air holes."

"If you say so."

While he shoved the bound turtle into a wooden crate, Aditi opened the cryogenic container she'd requested for her quarry. The ability to shape shift rendered conventional restraints useless. This would be more certain.

Unbinding the serpent, she triggered one of her shock darts, just to be safe, before removing it and the rest, and dumping the body inside. Closing the top, she activated cryogenic stasis and the container sealed with a loud whoosh.

"I'll pack up the camp while you get the prisoners into the plane. Tiger Claw nodded pensively and didn't argue, which set off another round of alarm bells. Something was amiss. By the time she had all their gear collected and loaded, she'd decided just to be blunt.

"Say it already." He stiffened, but then relaxed and huffed out a breath.

"You know Oroku Saki?" Well that was the last thing she'd been expecting.

"Yes." She answered cautiously, not sure where he was going with this.

"You should tell him about the serpent girl you captured when we get back."

"Why?" He clamped his jaw shut and refused to say another word.

Discussing classified missions with unauthorized individuals was strictly prohibited and would damage her reputation if it got out. And they'd barely seen each other twice in over two decades. She didn't owe him anything.

For a brief instant her mind flicked to Pimiko and she cringed internally. Well that wasn't entirely true, but what she owed him had nothing to do with this mission. And yet, something in Tiger Claw's eyes made her reconsider shutting him down outright.

"I'll think about it. For now, let's just get them back to the lab."


	28. Chapter 27: Identity I

**Identity I:**

Pimiko exited the airport with the five students she'd chosen to bring with her. They'd contacted a taxi to pick them up and take them to the fancy New York apartment that Gokomodo-san had offered for their use. Their group was somehow alone at the curb while they waited with their luggage. Pimiko's mind was already planning.

"Our information says that they come out at night and generally act to protect the populace. We should set up a search pattern in the labeled regions and once we've confirmed this information, perhaps we can stage a crime or two as a trap and take one when it arrives to intervene."

She looked over and saw Naoko staring wide eyed into a garbage can. Really? She was giving orders here.

"Pim, you have to see this."

What could possibly be so fascinating in a waste bin? Naoko reached in and pulled out a slightly crumpled flyer that she passed to Pimiko. With a sigh Pimiko took it and gasped when she actually looked at it. No way. There was absolutely no way. At first glance it looked like a grainy picture of a guy in a turtle costume, advertising Cowabunga Carl's party services. The head mask was obviously fake, but the body…

Dropping her luggage, she yanked open the outer zipper pouch and ripped out the file from the pocket, flipping through for the photographs. The same. It was exactly the same. She could even identify which one based on the specific design of his belt in the flyer. One designed to hold nunchaku.

This was perfect. There was no way she could be so lucky. And yet, here it was. Entertaining for children's parties apparently. Odd, but very easy to work with. A plan was already coming together in her mind. She was going to ace this first mission.

"Sakura, Natsumi, Hana, I need you to research American children's parties and set up the apartment to realistically look like one. Naoko, Haruna, prepare some sugary party food and put that tranquilizer we got from Sacks Inc in it. I'll set the trap."

* * *

"Go fish!"

Ice Cream Kitty mrrowwed, but reached a dripping paw into the pile of cards while seated facing off from Mikey on the kitchen table. Raph glanced up from the couch where he was currently holding Mona while she highlighted one of her textbooks.

"You know every time you two play cards, the deck is completely unusable afterwards." Mikey shrugged.

"Totally worth it brah. Don't worry, I'll replace it."

Although it was true that he'd learned the hard way not to play collectable card games with Ice Cream Kitty. And it wasn't only because Ice Cream Kitty was nigh unbeatable and somehow always managed to possess rare and powerful cards despite living in their freezer. He'd lost his best Hokeymon cards to Ice Cream Kitty whose deck, along with Mikey's favorite Hokeymon, had ultimately dissolved in Ice Cream Kitty's delicious and sticky paws.

Now it was only easily replaced, regular decks of cards, which was cool. They were like super cards anyway because you could totally play all kinds of games with them or make up your own. Regular cards rocked.

"Whatever."

Raph gave up and retuned his attention to Mona. Then the phone rang. Almost falling off the table, Mikey managed to snatch it off the cradle without actually getting up.

"Cowabunga Carl's party services."

"Hello. I was hoping to arrange entertainment for my son's birthday party. Are you available Saturday at one?"

"Uh, actually I have another…"

"Well, what about three? I can push the party back a few hours." Mikey frowned. No one had ever arranged their parties around him before.

"Really?"

"My son has been super excited ever since he saw your flyer and he's kind of counting on you. I'll pay double if you can make it." Mikey couldn't help but smile. A little fan. Awesome.

"That would make it a hundred dollars, so it's not really neces…"

"Done. We'll see you Saturday. I've got the address if you're ready." Mikey arched back to grab the Crognard dry erase board off the fridge and toppled over the edge of the table.

"Uh, are you ok?" Somehow, he managed not to groan as he answered.

"Never better. Ready for the address."

He lay on the floor grinning as he jotted it down. Wow. A hundred dollars. This rocked. He was so lucky. And being able to be generous, he'd buy Raph two new decks of playing cards just to show him. And maybe an extra few just for him and Ice Cream Kitty now that they'd be rich. Ooh and some monocles too. Since they were going to be rich, they ought to look the part.

"Looking forward to seeing you there." She hung up and he flipped to his feet excitedly. Saturday was going to be great!


	29. Chapter 28: Hero Worship II

**Hero Worship II:**

"I really don't see how this class is making you any more like the hockey vigilante. We're just skating until we die, not learning to take down lowlifes with sports equipment."

Walt nodded along with Caitlyn's words of wisdom as they three of them sat together at the lunch table. Walt didn't normally sit with her and Zach, but this was an intervention. It was Friday, so she had about half a week to convince him for all their sakes.

"Pshaa, you're exaggerating. Coach Casey isn't that tough on us." He tried to wave off her words with a casual gesture, but winced as it aggravated his sore muscles, essentially demonstrating her point. Walt, as usual, was less patient with Zach's denial of reality.

"We're the only ones left in the class. For good reason."

"Because we're the best?" Walt smacked his forehead onto the table.

"Because you're a stubborn idiot. Anyone with any sense has quit already."

"Oh come on you guys…"

"Seriously, Zach, why can't you emulate that other guy, the Nightwatcher? It would be so much safer to take motorcycle lessons than keep going with the hockey. At least Coach Casey's version of hockey." At this point, Cait was close to begging. Zach frowned.

"I don't know. Joan Grody says…"

"I know what Grody says, but she could just be holding a grudge because he thwarts all her attempts at investigation."

"It's not just that. If you closely examine any of the few photographs taken of him, he kind of looks like a big, metal turtle." Walt groaned.

"Not this again! There are no such things as warrior turtle people hiding out in New York! Get over it already! If you keep going like this, you're gonna end up as that weirdo relative that the rest of the family refers to in euphemisms."

But Zach wasn't listening anymore. His eyes were lit up and looking across the cafeteria. Cait suspected what had caught his attention, and though afraid to look, she found herself turning around anyway.

There was the coach's sister, walking through the crowded cafeteria with her nose in a book, somehow miraculously avoiding every obstacle and pitfall that a room crammed full of stir crazy teenagers could provide. Even before he called out, she knew where this was going and already resented it.

"Jones! Hey Jones!" The girl's head snapped up at the mention of her name and she zeroed in on Zach immediately.

"There's a spot to sit here." Looking momentarily surprised, she smiled and started walking over. Cait turned away and pouted. Great. So much for their intervention.

"I know you guys, don't I?" Zach gave her one of those smiles that always made Cait's heart flutter.

"Yeah, we're in your brother's hockey class. I'm Zach, that's Walt and this is Cait." Her eyes widened in surprise and recognition.

"That's right. You're the only ones left aren't you? Sorry. My brother's not good with normal people. I'm Maria by the way." Hmm, so Shad must be some kind of nickname that her brother had for her then.

"That's a nice name." Cait's jaw dropped at Walt's mumbled interjection. Walt was never shy or nervous. What kind of super power did this girl possess?

"Well good thing we're not normal." For some reason Zach seemed to think that was something to be proud of. But it worked. Maria giggled.

Walt huffed a bit.

"Speak for yourself."

Maria smiled.

"It's fine. I'm not good with normal people either." Well if they were going to be stuck talking to little miss perfect, at least Cait could take the opportunity to try figuring her out.

"So I don't know you from any of our classes…" Maria blinked in surprise.

"Are you all in the same grade?"

"No." Walt was emphatic this time. Cait corrected herself.

"I meant me and Zach. We're freshmen. Walt's a junior."

"Oh. Well that explains it. I'm a sophomore."

"So do you have any fun hobbies? Are you into hockey like your brother?" Cait scoffed. Since when was Zach this forward? And since when was anyone this receptive to him. He was completely oblivious and almost always put people off with his tendency to sound crazy. Maria laughed.

"I don't think anyone is into hockey like my brother, but it's fun to watch. Mostly I'm a reader. I'd like to write professionally one day."

"That's great. I bet you're amazing. I'd love to read some of your stuff sometime." Maria turned pink, Cait fought back a growl and Walt was clearly kicking himself for not saying it first.

"Hey, I do a lot of research. Since you like to read, maybe we could go to the library after school some time." Maria froze at Zach's suggestion.

"Uh, I'd love to. I really would, but I've got…stuff going on after school every day."

Walt and Zach became subdued, assuming that Maria was just letting them down nicely, but they hadn't been watching her like a hawk. Not the way Cait had. Maria wasn't making up an excuse. Her 'stuff' was something real. Something she didn't want to tell them. Some kind of secret. Maria perked up.

"But I'd love to sit with you guys at lunch and maybe I can get a free weekend to hang out." The boys perked up and Zach continued to regale her while Walt struggled to damage control on the conversation, hoping to prevent his loony little brother from driving her off. Cait paid it no mind. She was already making plans to uncover Maria's secret.

* * *

Caitlyn pulled the baseball cap lower over her sunglasses and tried to appear to be inconspicuously examining the wares of a corner magazine stand as her eyes trailed after Maria. She'd been doing her best to be subtle, but suspected that if the girl hadn't been reading while navigating New York's sidewalks, she probably would have noticed her tail. At least Cait had Maria's literature addiction going for her.

She risked another glance and gasped as Maria looked up from her book, as she had clearly heard something, and smiled, waving someone over. It was the someone that caused Cait's reaction. He was older, at least in his late twenties and wearing a cloth vest over only skin that did nothing to hide his tattoos. He was a Purple Dragon.

Maria gave him a quick affectionate hug. Zach's crush had a secret, older, gangland boyfriend. She didn't know whether to be elated on her own behalf or sad on Zach's. She watched them chat for a bit, before the boyfriend took off and Maria moved on.

Cait stuffed the magazine back onto the rack and moved to follow. As she rounded the corner, where Maria had disappeared, someone abruptly grabbed her and slammed her back against the wall.

"Who are you? Why are you following me and who do you work for?" Cait gasped for breath as her hat and glasses tumbled off.

"Cait?" Now Maria looked confused and embarrassed.

"Uh what are you doing?" Holy crap! Maria was just as much of a thug as her secret boyfriend. She needed a good explanation or she was about to get her butt kicked.

"I wasn't following you. I swear. It's just coincidence." Maria looked down at the remnants of Cait's disguise.

"I, uh, was trying not to be noticed. It's, uh, embarrassing."

Maria waited expectantly as Cait glanced around for inspiration. Across the street was a sign offering gym memberships. Eh, better than the nothing she currently had. She just needed to make it sound insecure.

"I was kind of looking to join…a, uh, particular organization, you know."

She tried to wink knowingly before going into the big reveal over being self-conscious about getting in shape, which wasn't necessarily the best excuse given she was in the Jones hockey boot camp. Unfortunately Maria, of the vivid imagination, took her subtle hint and ran the whole nine yards with it.

"You want to become a Purple Dragon?!" Cait's mouth fell open, but no words came out. How had that leap been made?

"That's great. I didn't know that you could fight. There's no one my own age. This is going to be so awesome!"

"Uh…"

"You can call me Shadow by the way." As Shadow grabbed her hand and dragged her off, Cait wondered just what she'd gotten herself into.


	30. Chapter 29: To Seek III

**To Seek III:**

Keno did his best to push his concerns and worries aside as he navigated his way to the café. He had a lot weighing him down and it was swirling about in his head like hurricane.

After the party, there'd been police reports to give. Then he had exams, to which Carter inexplicably didn't show for. And now he wasn't answering his texts or calls. And he'd finally found out about a Purple Dragon recruitment tryout and impulsively gone.

Naturally he'd knocked it out of the park. Imagine his surprise when they'd taken him to their headquarters to introduce him to their leader. Of all people it had to be Angel Bridge. She recognized him and knew damn well he was better than any of her other little minions but still felt the need to kick his ass under the pretext of proving he was worthy.

Whatever. He was in now and he'd finally figure out what they were up to. It must be something serious if a psycho like Angel was in charge. He tried not to think about the raw and tender skin on his right shoulder, constantly being aggravated by the friction of his shirt. He could always get the stupid dragon tattoo removed later.  
Rounding the corner, he caught sight of her and let out an involuntary sigh of contentment. She was at one of the tables, reading an eBook while her coffee cooled in front of her. Irma.

He hadn't actually seen her since he'd helped her home the night of the party when she'd finally woken up. In the state she'd been in, it was a miracle that she'd managed to accurately give him her number, but she'd been determined. He'd been texting her off and on but things had been a bit too busy to actually meet up before now. He wondered if it was wise to start seeing her now that he was undercover with the Purple Dragons, but found himself unable to resist her invitation.

She glanced up from her book as he approached and smiled at him. He could feel a dopey grin spread across his face as he looked into her green eyes, magnified by the lenses of her glasses.

"Hey."

"Hey."

He sat down in the surprisingly comfortable wire metal chair, seriously the thing looked like it was meant to be used for interrogation tactics, and looked around at the quaint little establishment.

"Uh, this is…" Her cheeks tinged pink.

"Probably not your thing. Sorry. I read here a lot and when you mentioned that you finally had some free time, I couldn't help calling you over. We don't have to stay here if you don't want."

"No, no, it's cool. I can see why you like it. It'll just take some getting used to." There was a moment of awkward silence.

"So, uh, glad to see you're doing better." Irma winced.

"Ugh, can we never mention that party again. I'd rather forget that ever happened."

"Sure, although about that…" She raised an eyebrow questioningly over the upper frame of her glasses as he had almost immediately violated her request after agreeing to it, but he had to get this out.

"Parties like that aren't really my thing." He thought she might be irritated or indignant. To his shock, she sank back into her chair and sighed in relief.

"Thank God."

"What?"

"I only went because I thought you wanted to go." For a moment he was speechless. Why would she possibly…oh crap that stupid flyer.

"Sorry, someone shoved that paper in my hand and I was looking for a garbage can." She gave him a wry smile.

"The integrity not to litter. I like that." He felt his face flush despite his best efforts to play it cool.

"But didn't you…"

"I was tearing it off the bulletin board for the crime of wasting important space." He grinned.

"Also doing a public service then." They laughed together and Keno felt the weight of the last few days lifting.

"Never again?"

"Not ever."

"So what do you actually like to do?"

She was about to answer when his phone went off and he scrambled to answer it, almost smashing the phone into the table when he heard the telemarketing recorded message. Then he realized that Irma was staring at him, a little indignant now.

"Don't mind me."

"Sorry, it's…I've got this friend, Carter Robinson. You actually met him before." She nodded, clearly able to recall his memorable companion.

"We've been friends since high school and he is really serious about school. He's the one that always kept me on track academically. Anyway, we have a few classes together this semester and he missed two exams this week. He never misses exams, even if he's deathly ill. He'll just show and risk infecting the rest of us to get his grade. I've left messages, but he hasn't gotten back with me."

"And you were hoping that might have been him." Keno nodded, rubbing his face.

"You're really worried about him." It wasn't a question.

"He's training for ninja warrior and the last time I saw him he was doing a parkour run. He doesn't always design the safest routes. Something could have happened…" He trailed off, not really wanting to finish that thought. Irma's expression became thoughtful.

"So if he designs these runs…"

"Loosely."

"Where would he keep said designs?"

"His entire training regimen is spread out in the office of his apartment, but…" Her mien determined, she stood up, ignoring her unfinished coffee.

"Then let's go. We're going to need that if we want to start looking for him."

* * *

Irma followed Keno up the stairs to his friend's apartment. Apparently they were close enough to have keys to each other's places. Maybe it was a guy thing that he didn't act on his worries sooner. Or he was trying to deny them.

She could relate to that. She'd been there herself. But blocking things out and pretending they'd never happened hadn't worked for her. The least she could do was steer him towards a more productive path. One way or another, they would find his friend. For Keno's sake, she hoped Carter was ok, but the evidence from his behavior was not promising.

Keno unlocked the door and pushed it open, leading the way in. The tiny, one bedroom apartment was littered with physical conditioning equipment and textbooks, except not in an organized chaos kind of way. The place had clearly been trashed.

Of the main room, the corner that was Carter's kitchen was in complete disarray and the opposing corner, which appeared to have once been his office, pretty much just a desk, had been overturned spilling papers and his computer across the floor.

The TV and couch in the center of the room and both been overturned and shoved askew. A glance at Keno's face was all it took to confirm that this was not the natural state of Carter's home. This put a different and even more disturbing spin on things.

"Should we call the police?" Before Keno could answer they heard the bedroom door slam shut. Keno put himself between her and the door as he cautiously moved towards it.

"Go away!" Keno stopped.

"Carter?"

"I said go away!"

"Not until you tell me what's going on!"

Incredulous and angry, Keno stomped forward and kicked open the door with Irma following close behind. The bedroom was dark and just as thrashed as the rest of the apartment. In the corner, she could make out the silhouette of Carter, sitting on the floor in the corner, his head buried in his knees.

The bed was over turned and the dresser mirror looked smashed and a little bloody, as though it had been repeatedly punched. Keno tried flipping the light switch to no effect. She looked up and saw that all the bulbs and to some extent the light fixture itself had been destroyed. Carter was not getting his security deposit back.

"Just leave Keno."

Irma's heart clutched. This was not the voice of the confident young man she'd met before. This voice sounded broken. Irma knew what that was like. She'd been there. Ignoring the demand, Keno strode forward and knelt in front of his friend.

"What is going on Carter?"

Irma's eyes widened as Carter sprung to his feet faster than she would have thought possible. Keno gasped and toppled backwards as Carter seemed to increase in size and she caught glimpses of yellow scales in the dark room.

For a terrible instant, Irma was back in that nightmare prison of her mind, being forced to relive dozens of broken scenarios of a life she hadn't lived. No one could force you to cope with crap like that. You needed space and the promise of support to have any hope of coming to terms with it.

"I said get out!" To his credit, Keno got back to his feet and stood his ground.

"No! Not until you tell me what the hell is going on!" Dazed from her own flashbacks, she drifted forward and took his hand.

"No Keno."

"What?"

"He's not ready to face anyone yet. We need to back off for now." Keno's jaw clenched and she could feel him squeezing her hand.

"Irma…"

"I understand this. Something happened to me around the time of the invasion. I will tell you later, but for now you have to trust me." He nodded stiffly. She turned back towards the massive form of Carter.

"We're here for you when you're ready."

Then she pulled Keno out of the room. It had taken a long time, but she'd finally made peace with what had happened to her, despite never getting satisfactory answers about what it was that she'd endured.

But there was one person that she knew to be at the heart of it. Although April had kept her in the dark, her friend had been there to help her survive it. She knew more than she was letting on about the invasion and all of the other weird crap that went on in New York. If anyone could help Carter, it was April. Decided on the best course of action, Irma pulled out her phone.


	31. Chapter 30: Fierce II

**Fierce II:**

Raph stood behind her, his face buried in her unruly locks, tied back in a loose ponytail, inhaling her scent. Apparently it tickled as she giggled and swatted at him, but he only tightened his arms around her waist, snuggling in closer.

"Raph, I'm trying to work here."

"Don't mind me." She let out a long fake sigh, but the chuckle at the end in combination with her tail, wrapped tightly around his right leg, suggested that she wasn't actually annoyed.

"You guys know we eat there, right?" Raph rolled his eyes at Mikey who was carrying a box full of colorful junk towards Donnie's lab.

"I thought you said you had preparations or something you needed to do for your 'job.'" Mikey shrugged, ignoring Raph's air quotes as he referenced his work.

"I do brah. Just say'n, kitchen belongs to everyone dude."

Mona just shook her head and continued assembling the sandwiches that would be everyone's dinner tonight. On the rare occasion that Mikey was too busy to cook, like tonight, the task typically fell elsewhere.

They'd learned early, specifically on that morning that Mikey had woken up with shellacne, that he and his remaining brothers were a culinary disaster. He and Leo had accepted that, left to their own devices, they'd be eating crackers or chips or anything that came ready to consume out of a box if they had no access to carry out.

Donnie kept trying for a few years, to everyone's dismay, claiming that cooking was essentially applied chemistry and thus he should be good at it. To Donnie's credit, he'd never actually punched Mikey when, while mimicking Murakami-san's voice, he reminded Don that cooking was an art form.

They'd learned for certain that Sensei couldn't cook to save his life, when he'd attempted helping Aunt Amaya make a traditional New Year's feast that first year she'd been with them. He never thought he'd say this but it had probably been a good thing that Master Splinter had fed them worms and algae for the first fifteen years of their lives. They might not have survived their childhood otherwise. And while Auntie A could cook, unless it was a special occasion, she would consistently order out when asked.

April could manage a decent meal if she wasn't too busy, but Casey's idea of preparing dinner was clearing out the snack section of the closest convenience store. He had no idea whether or not Miwa could cook and no one, not even Leo, had the gall to ask her. Implying that she was in any way domestic was a very dangerous thing.

Venus, when she wasn't off in China, was generally willing to step up, but her cooking was more food roulette than Mikey's. Some of it, while exotic, was pretty amazing. Other times he'd thought she was making some kind of sick joke.

When she sent April to specialty grocery stores in Chinatown, he knew to make himself scarce around mealtime. Only Donnie would eat on those nights and Raph suspected it was as much his insatiable, scientific curiosity as his desire not to hurt her feelings that he didn't find a reason to disappear as well.

So, even if she only made salads or, as now, sandwiches, Mona was the best back for Mikey's hiatuses. Her phone sounded an email notification and Mona looked down at her mustard covered fingers.

"Raph can you check that. I'm expecting an email from my professor about my term paper topic. I either need to start thinking about how I want to arrange the paper or come up with a new topic and I'd like to know sooner rather than later."

He reluctantly removed a hand from her waist and swiped her T-phone open, clicking on the email link in the notification bar. It opened and he involuntarily gripped Mona so tightly with his remaining arm around her waist that she let out a startled squeak. The email was from the eTrueHearts online dating service, sending her a recommendation. A very wrong recommendation.

"What is…?" He glanced over at Mona in time to see her expression transform from confusion to blinding rage.

"Mom." There was an undeniable accusatory tone to her voice as she bit the word out.

"She set up an online dating profile for you?"

"She has my email address. She could have. Tell me that's not the bastard who attacked April and her friend."

"It is."

"I think I need a word with my mother." Mona wiped off her hands on a towel, grabbed the phone and stalked off behind the dojo.

Let it flow. Like water over a stone. The mantra that worked well enough on random insults was a bit less effective when it came to Mona's mom's attempts to oust him from her life. He needed to hit something. Making his way out of the kitchen, he was startled to find Donnie already at the training dummy, whaling on it.

"Donnie?" His brother jumped at the sound of his voice and started rubbing his sore knuckles sheepishly.

"I was hoping it would work for me as well as it does for you."

Raph glanced around the lair to discover absolutely no one else available. It looked like it was up to him. He hated dealing with touchy feely emotional stuff even when he wasn't already fuming. But Donnie needed someone and he was here. Time to turtle up.

"So what's going on?"

"I haven't heard from Venus in days." Ok, that was weird.

"Well does her brother know why?" Donnie shook his head.

"I can't get through to anyone. The calls don't connect." Raph relaxed. Well this was an easy one. His brother was just needlessly worried.

"Well obviously that contraption you made them broke and no one knows how to fix it. She'll probably bring it back with her when she comes home so that you can get it working again. Don't worry Don. Venus is in a secret martial arts cult, surrounded by a family of badass warriors. And even if she wasn't, she can take care of herself. You know that better than anyone. She's fine."

He could see emotion warring with logic on his brother's face. As usual, logic won, though just barely and although Donnie's worries weren't completely alleviated, he accepted Raph's reasoning.

"You just need something to take your mind off of it." Donnie smiled and pulled out some printouts that were tucked into his belt.

"I do have some ninja work to do, but I was killing time until sundown. It's close enough that I can probably get going." Raph raised an eye ridge as he eyed the papers.

"You gonna tell me what you're up to?" He shrugged.

"When Will Sacks's arrest hit the news, his buddies scattered before they could be apprehended. I tracked them down with a mixture of logic and unauthorized traffic cam access. I have a few things to say to them." So April's attackers needed a beat down. This was exactly what he needed.

"So they're all in one place?"

"No. I said scattered. There's no coordination. They all just ran. But I've got all their locations."

So divide and conquer. Casey would want in on this too. And maybe Mona could use the distraction from her family problems. Speaking of Mona, she'd probably want that dating profile down and a new email address pronto. Surprising Donnie, Raph plucked the papers out of his hand.

"I got this Don. Mona's mom has been invading her privacy. Think you can clear up all the mess she's made and set Mona up with a new number and an email that her parents don't have access to?" Donnie sighed and nodded as Raph good naturedly clapped a hand on his shoulder.

"Knew I could count on you." Just then they heard a shriek of frustration and the sound of something shattering.

"She'll probably need a new T-phone too."

* * *

Mona paced as she dialed her mother's cell phone number. She was pretty certain it was her mother and not her father as he generally needed to ask for help to turn the computer on. The whole situation was maddening.

Back before her mutation, when she'd been a shallow socialite or whatever the nerdy equivalent of that was, she'd always had a good relationship with her parents. Granted the only true disagreement they'd ever had was about committing Lily and she'd strong armed a compromise out of that.

But ever since she'd become someone that she could actually be proud of, she hadn't been on the same page as them. It had officially gotten to the point where she would to have to choose and although the decision was essentially already made, it still killed her to think of it. The phone rang only twice before her mother picked up, not sounding entirely surprised.

"Hello darling, it's wonderful to hear from you."

"This isn't a social call. I assume you know why you're hearing from me."

"Oh, did your account contact you. I hope you don't mind that I used an old high school picture. You always looked so nice in those."

"You mean a picture that deceptively looks nothing like me anymore?"

"It's the real you honey. So did you get any matches?"

"It recommended a man who just got arrested as a serial rapist."

"Well that's unfortunate dear, but you have to sift through a lot of chaff to find the wheat."

"No I don't! Because I've already found who I'm looking for and I'm happy with him."

"For now dear, but when you're done with this experimental phase, he can't turn back human with you."

"This isn't an experimental phase and I am not turning back ever. I like who I am now and intend to stay this way."

"Of course you think that now but…"

"Mom!"

"Darling, I just want what's best for you."

"The way Uncle A. J. wanted what was best for Lily and Aunt Leanna?"

"Lisa how dare you insinuate…"

"It's not an insinuation, it's an accurate comparison. We're done mom. Please don't contact me. Ever again." Her mother sighed.

"I'll let you calm down and we can discuss this further on Thanksgiving."

"Aaaaaaagghhh!"

She doubted that her mother had a chance to hang up before she chucked her phone into the brick wall, smashing it into tiny electronic shards. Trembling with rage and frustration, she closed her eyes and tried the breathing exercises that she'd learned from Master Splinter in an effort to regain mastery of herself. At least until Raph's arms closed around her, not surprising since she'd probably been audible as far as New Jersey, and she sank into him with blessed relief.

"You ok?"

"No."

"Well I've got something that will cheer you up." He slipped a few sheets of paper into her hands.

"Some of Sack's cronies gave the law the slip. You up for bringing the hurt?" She couldn't help smiling.

"You always get me the nicest presents."

* * *

Donnie had just finished sweeping up the fragments of Mona's old phone and was returning the kitchen to dump it. She'd really done a number on it. Absolutely nothing was salvageable. His sister's temper could be as bad as Raph's and yet somehow they always managed to mellow each other out.

He couldn't say that he wasn't intrigued by Raph's request. He'd been vague enough to pique Donnie's curiosity. Raph was surprisingly clever sometimes. And sometimes not. He suspected the task Raph had offered as distraction would take him less than an hour to complete and then he'd be left with his own thoughts again. Going out to pummel April's attackers would probably have been more satisfying but, for the moment, he was curious.

Waking up his computer, he almost laughed out loud as his search yielded results. The dating profile Mona's mom had set up for her was overly cheesy and honestly sounded a bit desperate. He shouldn't laugh. He really shouldn't, but it was truly funny.

He knew that he should empathize with Raph's in-law problems. Venus's brother hadn't been particularly partial to him although he had eventually managed to earn a grudging respect from him, but his wife was a lost cause. There would be no winning her over for him or for Venus. So, as cute as Venus's young nephew was, he'd opted to stay home during her yearly sojourns back to the old country rather than face her sister-in-law's quiet venom. He was about to start dismantling the dating profile when his phone rang.

"Hey April! What's up?"


	32. Chapter 31: Adaptable II

**Adaptable II:**

April stood outside Carter's apartment door hoping that she'd given Donnie enough time to make it. New mutant alerts, few as they'd been lately, were always to be handled with caution. Not wanting to alarm, what was likely a very traumatize young man, assuming they had a best case scenario, she opted to start with a polite approach. Knocking firmly, she called out.

"Carter? Are you there? It's April. We met in the student center recently." She waited. No response. She knocked again.

"I'm Irma's friend. You know, the girl dating Keno?" She waited once more. Still no response.

"Carter?"

Well that was it. Pulling out her lock picks, she proceeded to open his apartment door. As Irma had said, the place looked like it was tossed, not a purposeful tossing, more like a destructive-rampage tossing. The feelings of fear and self-loathing that permeated the apartment, thick enough to almost be tangible. She was pretty sure he'd maintained his sentience and was not adjusting well to the new him, although as far as she knew, few new mutants did.

"Carter?"

"Get out!"

"I know what's happened to you and I'm here to help."

The despair transformed into anger as the bedroom door burst open and out came a seven foot tall man, covered in yellow scales. Bone spikes jutted from his shoulders and angular splashes of red scales surrounded his eyes. His dreadlocks now formed a mohawk atop his head.

He wasn't the weirdest thing she'd ever seen, not by a long shot, but she doubted telling him that would help. Instead, she held up her hands, palms out in a gesture of peace and willed him to be calm. The rage shifted back into misery.

"Why aren't you running and screaming? I'm a monster." She smiled.

"Like I said, I know what's happened to you. And you're not a monster, you're a mutant."

"A mutant?"

"Let me guess, came in contact with some glowing ooze?" He nodded.

"So, uh, is it reversible?"

"Possibly. Depending on the mutagen you found. A friend of mine knows how to make a counteragent for most cases."

"Please."

"Ok, I'm going to let him in. Don't freak out."

Carter actually scoffed at that and gestured towards himself. Well, she'd warned him anyway. Opening the window, she waved outside and then backed up to allow Donnie space to flip into the room, cringing as she felt Carter's panic spike.

"Aaaah!" He backed away and started scooping up miscellaneous debris from his apartment floor, chucking it at Donnie hard enough to shatter the plaster on the walls.

"Waaahhh!" Donnie shrieked as he drew his staff while diving into a roll, using the staff to deflect the few items that he couldn't dodge. April willed Carter to be calm again as she spoke.

"Wait! This is my friend. The one who might be able to fix you. I told you not to freak out." Carter stopped mid-throw, dropping the waffle maker he'd been holding.

"This is him? If he can fix me, why hasn't he fixed himself?" Donnie crossed his arms angrily and glared at Carter.

"There's nothing to fix. This is who I am."

"Don't you want to be human again?"

"I was never human. I was an ordinary turtle before. And I happen to like the way I am now thank you very much."

"Oh. Sorry." Carter looked like he was having a hard time with this and Donnie's indignation, justified as it was, wasn't helping. She turned to him first.

"So this is Carter. Apparently, he's been friends with Keno, Irma's new boyfriend, for years and they're really worried about him." Then she turned back to Carter.

"This is my friend Donatello. He's a great guy, really smart and we're here to help you."

He looked back and forth between them cautiously before finally nodding his acceptance. Then he picked up the two pieces of the couch, which looked like it had been torn in half, and set them as upright as possible, given that the middle support had been obliterated. April moved to start stacking books under the broken ends, so they were roughly even to sit on. She took one portion of couch while Carter carefully sat down on the other, knowing they weren't the most stable structures at the moment. He started to panic again when Donnie pulled a device out of his satchel.

"No, it's cool. The quadcorder just does diagnostic scans." Donnie frowned at the name, but didn't correct her. Mulit-phase, ranged, full-spectrum, matter scanner was just too long. It was his own fault that everyone renamed the cool stuff he built. And the term Leo had borrowed from a similar device featured on Space Heroes fit perfectly. At her explanation, Carter kept himself in check and allowed Donnie to run the scanner.

"Well?" Apparently Carter was impatient for results.

"He's definitely a mutant, not a robot…"

"Of course I'm not a robot! What's wrong with you?" April smiled sheepishly.

"We've had some bad luck with robots in the past. Just have to be thorough." Donnie put the device away.

"The identity check I did on him before heading out didn't raise any flags, so he seems to be who he says he is."

"Why wouldn't I be?"

"Easy now. Sorry but we have reason to be paranoid." At this point Donnie didn't seem to care if he was offending Carter, so it was up to her to referee.

"I'll take a blood sample and run some tests, to see exactly what kind of mutation he's undergone. A full description of the mutating event would probably be helpful too." Carter tensed at Donnie's words.

"What? You're just going to leave me here? Like this? For how long?" April could hear the panic and desperation in his voice.

"Donnie. He really shouldn't stay here. It's a miracle no one has found him already. Well no one besides Keno and Irma"

"So where are you suggesting…whoa. No, no, no, no. Do you have any idea how much trouble I'll be in if we bring him back to the lair!"

"Lair? What are you guys? Some kind of supervillains?" Donnie glared at Carter again.

"It's our home. Just so you know the actual definition of lair is a well-hidden resting place of safety and protection, generally for animals. It's human prejudice against animals that gives the word a negative connotation." April placed a calming hand on his shell.

"Donnie focus. More important issues than semantics." He sighed and nodded.

"But…"

"We will take precautions to keep our family safe, but if Irma ends up being serious about this Keno guy, Carter might end up an extended form of that family."

"That's a big if. Irma's only just met him and she doesn't actually…"

"Donnie focus. How do we get him home without compromising our safety?"

"I have an idea, but I don't think he'll like it."

* * *

Carter staggered out of whatever vehicle they were in, with what he suspected was April's help. The sensory deprivation made the ride even more motion sickness inducing. Before he lost the ability to focus on anything other than his nausea, it felt like they were taking too many turns and repeatedly backtracking, as if he'd have been able to figure out where they went after getting in the vehicle.

Donatello and April helped him to a chair that he sank into with blessed relief, focusing on calming his churning stomach as they removed the blindfold, earplugs and nose plugs they'd improvised, MacGyver style, for him back at his apartment. He looked around at what appeared to be a large, homemade lab inside some kind of windowless, brick structure.

"Where are we?" Donatello crossed his arms.

"That's not important." Then he turned his shell to Carter, addressing April.

"I think I'll wait until everyone's back before telling Sensei about this." She smiled.

"If you're hoping for moral support from Raph, I think you're barking up the wrong tree. You'll probably need Sensei to keep him from tearing into you." Donnie cringed at thought.

"Probably."

"Where is everyone anyway?"

"Well, Mikey's in the dojo practicing his routine, so that means Sensei's probably in his room. Raph and Mona went out to round up a few strays." She raised an eyebrow at his vague response, but uncharacteristically let it be.

"Uh, I was supposed to be helping Mona out when you called. But now I need to get started on Carter's bloodwork. April, do you think you could prep one of the spare T-phones for her, set her up with new contact info and take down her dating profile."

"Dating profile!?"

"She's having some issues with her parents again. It's all up on my computer."

"On it."

Carter followed the conversation full of unfamiliar people and places with almost a surreal sense of detachment as though all of this were happening to someone else. He barely even reacted as Donatello started getting set up to draw blood.

Lethargic, he just watched as the turtle mutant took several vials of blood and started several different processes with them which seemed to require equipment from all around the lab. When he finally got to that inevitable point in scientific investigation where there's nothing left to do but wait for results, Donatello grabbed a notebook and sat down in front of him, his serious expression finally pulling Carter out of his cocoon of emotional numbness.

"I need you to tell me exactly what happened."


	33. Chapter 32: Yin and Yang III

**Yin and Yang III:**

Casey ducked into an alley, as he saw his target advance, apparently not content to wait in the location that Raph had given him. Good thing Casey happened to be approaching from the direction of the nearest bus station or this loser might have slipped through.

But for the moment, he had to wait. While it was late and dark, the street wasn't completely deserted and it was better not to have an audience. So he'd hold off until the little old lady in the babushka styled headscarf had gotten passed. It was a good plan. Until it went down the tubes.

Apparently, the elderly woman had not given the jerk a wide enough berth when passing on the sidewalk and he shoulder checked her out of his way and into the brick wall of the nearby building. That was it. Screw waiting. He was about to step out when some poser, dressed like a Nightwatcher wannabe, jumped out dramatically from the alley at the other end of the incident.

"Halt villain! Apologize before I teach you some manners!" What was going on? The woman, now somewhat recovered, squawked in dismay at the scene and scuttled off as quickly as she could. Casey's target just glared at the interloper.

"Save the dressing up for Halloween and get lost freak."

"Can't say I didn't warn you."

Nightwatcher fanboy rushed forward with the worst punch Casey had ever seen. The other guy was too flabbergasted to dodge and barely moved as the fist collided harmlessly with his shoulder. Then he proceeded to deck the costumed crusader. Enough of this. Casey pulled out his newest acquisition, a cricket bat, pulled his mask down and skated out into the open.

"Time for a new game." The guy turned and snorted, although Casey could tell that he wasn't nearly as confident with his new opponent as he had been with his first.

"Man, every loon is coming out of the woodwork tonight." Casey rolled his shoulders and head, producing a series of cracking sounds as he loosened up.

"Just repaying a debt. The lesson is pain 101 and I'm your instructor."

"Whatever."

The guy rushed Casey, but wasn't nearly fast enough. He easily leaned out of the way of the guy's punch and let him stumble by. Now he could just cut to the chase, but this loser had attacked April. Pathetically, but the intent had still been there. He'd soften the jerk up first.

And so Casey brought the cricket bat down hard on the guy's back, sprawling him face first onto the pavement. Casey waited while his opponent scrambled back to his feet, and then skated in, ploughing the handle of the bat into the guy's abdomen before smashing it up into his face as he involuntarily pitched forward.

As blood gushed from his now broken nose, he staggered back, stumbling about as though drunk. With a full swing, Casey brought the bat up once more, slamming it into the underside of the man's chin hard enough to send him flying, right into the nearby trashcan.

"Six runs." Flipping his skates back, Casey, walked over, tipped the garbage can and stepped one foot on it to hold it in place as he peered down at the terrified face on the other side of wire.

"You are going straight to the police and confessing every crime you and Sacks have committed together or I will found you and believe me when I say that the next lesson has a much steeper learning curve. Capiche?"

The guy nodded in the nonverbal equivalent of blubbering and Casey kicked the garbage can aside, watching as the scum struggled his way out and began lurching in the general direction of the nearest precinct. Casey intended to follow later to make sure he didn't get lost along the way, but he wasn't going anywhere fast and there was other business to take care of. The Nightwatcher imposter was sitting up now, barely restraining himself from clapping.

"I'm only going to ask this once. Who are you? And don't say the Nightwatcher, because I know you aren't." The hapless, costumed crusader spent the next few minutes struggling to remove his helmet. When he finally got it off, Casey knew that he'd seen this guy before, but couldn't place exactly where.

"That was amazing. I'm Timothy by the way." Timothy? Oh hell, Mutagen Man.

"What are you doing? I thought you promised Donnie that you'd give up being the Pulverizer after he unmutated you." Timothy's eyes widened.

"You know the turtles? Well of course you do. Us hero types have to stick together."

"Tim!"

"Right. I only said that I'd stop being the Pulverizer. And I have. But after seeing the Nightwatcher's work on the news, I found my new calling. I am now the Twilight Gazer." Casey doubled over laughing. He couldn't help it.

"Dude, you sound like a character from that magic horse cartoon my sister used to watch."

"Uh, the name is still a work in progress."

"Seriously though. You need to stop."

"But…"

"Gonna be honest with you. You suck and you're just gonna get your butt kicked. That's why Donnie told you to give it up and he meant all super-heroing, not just the Pulverizer."

Timothy frowned looking equal parts crestfallen and determined. In that moment, Casey knew that no matter how badly he would always suck at this, he was never gonna quit. And continuing on like this would only get him dead. There was an alternative middle ground though. Angel was going to kill him.

"How's this? No more solo work. And no I don't mean teaming up with me. The Dragons are under new management now that has turned them into a vigilante defense force. Why don't you join up with them?" Timothy absolutely lit up at the suggestion.

"I totally will. Thanks for the advice sports dude."

"The name is Casey Jones."

* * *

Angel dragged the frightened, whimpering man up to the station by the scruff of his neck.

"Suck it up. If you hadn't tried blocking with your cast, it would still be intact."

He just cradled his broken wrist closer to his chest and she sighed. When Raph had called for her help, she'd been more than happy to ditch out of the demonstration by Shad's little friend on not knowing the first thing about fighting. If Shad really wanted this girl in the Dragons, it was her responsibility to get new girl up to speed. Angel did not babysit.

Raph's request had become less fortuitous when she'd realized that her target was probably an even worse combatant than Shad's buddy. What a boring disappointment. Still, scum like him couldn't be tolerated to run free, especially not when it targeted family. And unless she had badly missed her guess on how things were going with Casey and April, she might as well consider April her sister already.

"Now you're going to go on in and tell them exactly what you've been up to with that Sack's bastard over the years or we're going to have a second date. Spoiler alert, I'm only this gentle at the start. Do we have an understanding?"

He nodded shakily, doing his best not to sob. Pathetic. She released him and he scrambled up the steps to the station like it was the path to salvation. Job done. Unless the fool opted for another round by weaseling his way out of the less than perfect justice system. Fine by her. Whether it was in the system or out of it, he would be paying for his crimes.

She'd barely made it a block away when she realized she was being followed. It was subtle. If she hadn't done so much training with her brother's friends, she probably wouldn't have even noticed. Whoever it was had certainly selected the wrong target.

Acting as though she hadn't noticed, she kept going, working her way off the street and into the relative seclusion of a nearby park. After turning a corner to enter the park, instead of continuing onward, she broke into a brief, silent print towards the nearest tree, leapt to grab the lowest branch and flip herself up into the cover of its foliage.

Seconds later, her pursuer rounded the corner and she had to make an effort to keep herself from gasping. How could she possibly have failed to notice that behemoth? He was over six feet tall and a wall of solid muscle that would make even the most dedicated gym rat drool with envy. The streetlight, glinting off his pale, bald head revealed that his eyes were dark brown as they scanned the park for any sign of her.

Despite being enormous, he seemed to have a quiet unobtrusiveness about him that counteracted his size, though she suspected that would dissipate quickly enough if and when he decided to throw his weight around. Still, even if his sheer size hadn't been enough to draw attention, the massive war hammer and ball and chain weapons strapped to his back should have raised a few eyebrows. Who was this guy?

Plan A was to remain hidden and follow him back to wherever he came from. Fighter or not, she knew the value of recon. Except he wasn't leaving. He was systematically searching every inch of the park. Sooner or later he was going to find her. Time to be proactive. She dropped from the tree, rolling into position not far behind him, escrima sticks at the ready.

"What do you want with me?" He stiffened in surprise, but relaxed and turned slowly to face her, making no move to draw his weapons.

"I mean you no harm."

"Try not to be offended if I don't take your word for it."

"I'm Adam McKay."

"That name doesn't mean a thing to me. Why are you following me?" He shifted uncomfortably.

"Mostly, I've just been waiting for a good opportunity to invite you into our organization. I was hoping to speak with you and the fox lady together." He knew about Alopex? That was concerning.

"You don't look like a government suit, so what is this, some kind of merc band you're looking to pad the ranks for?" He shook his head good naturedly.

"Nothing like that. I'm an acolyte of the Tribunal." Ok, that sounded ominously cultish.

"And yeah, I know how that sounds, but hear me out. We're the good guys." She raised an eyebrow in disbelief but he had piqued her curiosity so she gestured for him to continue.

"This might be difficult to believe but the world is full of a great many supernatural dangers that the vast majority of the population is not aware of." Well she ran with the right crowd to know the truth of that.

"A really long time ago, the pantheons of old gathered together a group of human heroes to protect the world from these threats. The Tribunal. And although the power of those pantheons has waned, what they invested in the Tribunal still exists, despite changing membership over the millennia. Although they do have to be careful to conserve the greater force of their power, lest it be expended and lost forever. So they invest smaller portions in their acolytes to serve as their agents in the world." He had officially crossed the line between being mysteriously interesting and a being a qualified nut job.

"And you expect me to buy this?" He grinned shyly.

"Not without proof." Beside him materialized the form of a spectral bear and she jumped back with a startled yelp.

"He is my avatar and my guide and a small example that I am not insane." Small? Right. That thing looked like a grizzly.

"And if you lot are so powerful, what do you need me and my friend for." He frowned.

"Recently our ranks have taken a serious blow. What remains of us is stretched too thin to protect the people properly." She narrowed her eyes suspiciously.

"And what exactly was this serious blow to the ranks of such a 'powerful' organization?"

Ok, maybe the air quotes was a bit much, even if she had rather awesomely pulled it off while holding her weapons, but it wasn't really in her nature to be polite. If she had something to say, she just said instead of dancing around the issue lest someone's feelings get hurt. Better to accept now that she was blunt, tactless and proud of it. If he took umbrage, he was welcome to walk.

"That's not really…"

"So you want me to just join up without knowing the apparently quite serious risks? Fine, I'm gone."

"Wait! It's not that…It's hard to talk about. They were my comrades. My friends." She could understand that. He took a deep breath.

"Some of this may be hard to believe."

"Try me."

"Do you remember the invasion?"

"The Kraang? Yup. In fact some friends of mine saved the world from it." He just stared for a moment in uncomprehending awe, before recovering to continue his tale.

"Well, shortly before, they noticed we'd been sending agents to New York to seek out a serious supernatural threat."

"That escaped dragon guy, Shenlong?" More astonishment. She shrugged.

"Happen to also know the ones who took him down."

"Well, the Kraang realized what drew us and copied Shenlong's energy, magnifying it a thousand fold. Fearing that Shenlong was rising we all rushed to the city to stop it."

"Noble even if it was a trap." He nodded with a pained expression.

"The Tribunal exists in another realm and we get our power from the Tribunal. The way the invaders open gateways between realms…"

"Dimensions."

"If you prefer. It's violent and unnatural, tearing apart the fabric of reality. In singular instances, we can feel the disruption. On the scale of invasion, it shattered the natural connections between rea…dimensions, cutting us off from out power and violently stunning us. They'd waited until we were all in the city before the invasion struck and then hunted us down one by one during their stay. There were very few of us left by the time your friends ended the occupation."

"So what exactly did the Kraang want with you?" He shook his head.

"Not sure, although they have hunted us off and on over time. All I know is that their means of killing us was unique. I could feel it each time one of ours fell. It was as though the invaders were ripping out their life force." Well that sounded unpleasant.

"And you think me and my friend are good candidates because…?"

"You are skilled warriors, inclined to protect and defend the weak."

"Well, if you noticed that then you must have also noticed that we have an independent streak. I don't work well with authority and the fox lady is done with being anyone's lackey. I think we'll continue freelancing it if you don't mind." He didn't look put out.

"I won't give up that easily. Determination is one of my traits."

"Along with?"

"Strength." Of course.

"Well good luck with that Adam. You'll need it."

She turned and walked away.

* * *

Alopex stalked her prey. It wasn't exactly difficult as he was trying to flee her on crutches with one leg in a cast. Using just shadow and sound, she'd managed to frighten him out of that drug house he'd chosen to crash in was now herding him through the alleys behind the building, waiting for his panic to peak.

Then she struck, slamming into him from behind and pinning him face first into the filthy pavement with her knee. Using one hand, she grabbed a fistful of hair, raking her claws along his scalp, hard enough to draw blood. Then she used the grip to jerk his head back enough to see as she reached her other hand in front of his face and slowly extend her talons a full four inches with horror movie theatricality. Allowing herself a small but low growl first, she spoke into his ear.

"Your crimes have cursed you and I am your punishment. This is your only warning prey. I am coming for you. Unless you go to the authorities and turn yourself in to atone as they see fit, your soul is forfeit to me. No matter where or how far you run, I will find you. There will be no escape."

She released him and slipped back into the shadows, watching as he scrabbled up onto his crutches and took off. That was actually kind of fun. When Raph had explained, she worried this task might be boring. She'd still have to follow, to make sure, but she doubted he would fail to comply. She could smell the fear on him.

And then another scent caught in her sensitive nose. One familiar and dangerous that she just couldn't place. Unwilling to be anyone's prey, she turned to follow it, tracking the faint traces through the labyrinth of streets. Worried that she might lose the trail, she moved faster, becoming careless.

The next corner she turned had someone behind it and she threw him against the wall, raising her kama to strike like some sort of canine reaper before realizing that he wasn't what she was tracking. Just an ordinary human staring up at her in abject terror.

Cursing her lack of caution, she released him, hoping that he would write off the whole encounter as some sort of nightmare hallucination. If not she'd have to deal with it later. For now her trail was growing cold.

Rushing off again, she caught the sent once more and followed it into an alley. An alley that was rigged with a bomb. Eyes widening in shock, her instincts compelled her to dive for cover behind a dumpster as it went off.

She needn't have bothered. There was little force and no shrapnel. Only a powerful, acrid odor that threatened to render her unconscious with its intensity. She staggered out of the alley, hacking and gasping for air. Even if that bomb hadn't destroyed the scent trail, she wouldn't be able to smell properly for hours. This turn of events was disturbing. Someone was targeting her and whoever they were, they knew too much. She needed to talk to Angel.

* * *

Raph watched his target hurry out of the convenience store with a bag full of purchases, rushing back to the idling car that waited for him. No skipping town for this dirt bag. In full Nightwatcher regalia, Raph dropped down between the man and the car.

"Going somewhere?"

Behind him the car squealed away from the curb. No honor among lowlifes. The man dropped his bag and ran. He actually thought that he was getting away. How cute. As the guy turned into the nearest alley, Raph followed and used his grappling hook gun on the fire escape to launch himself up and over to the far end. As the man stopped and turned to see if he'd lost his pursuer, Raph dropped down behind him with an intentionally audible thud.

"Shouldn't you be in police custody? Apparently someone needs remedial lessons on crime and punishment. Fortunately for you, night class is in session."

The thud of another landing caused the guy to spin away from Raph to where Mona stood, looking amazingly hot in black leather and a full coverage motorcycle helmet, designed to match his own disguise. The only major difference was the addition of a cape to hide her tail.

"Time for some teaching assistance."

The guy didn't even have a chance to react before she began pummeling his torso with a flurry of body shots that culminated with her spinning around to whip him with her tail. Raph sidestepped, allowing the man to fly past him and into the nearby dumpster. Watching Mona kick ass was as much fun as doing it himself.

Now it was time to leave the cops a present. Reaching in, he hauled the creep's unconscious body out of the dumpster and tied some rope around his ankle. He would have used his manriki if it didn't mean leaving it behind. After the look Don had given him last time he'd needed to ask for a replacement he wasn't sure he'd get another if he 'misplaced' this one.

They dragged him back out into the street, tossed the end of the rope over the streetlight and hoisted him up like one of the city's seasonal decorations. With the evidence Donnie had anonymously provided, the police would know what to do with this guy when they found him dangling.

Job done, they disappeared back into the alley and up the fire escape, high fiving at the top of the building. Our high three/fouring. He took off his helmet, breathing deep the fresh air and Mona did likewise. Great cover, but kind of stifling.

"Feeling better?" She laughed.

"You have no idea."

"Not bad."

They both spun around at the sound of the third voice at the far end of the roof and Raph mentally kicked himself for not checking his surroundings before celebrating. He'd seriously just pulled a Mikey.

On the ledge across from them sat a human woman with short blonde hair, cut into a bob, and green eyes only a few shades darker than his own, with a slight cant to their angle that reminded him of Miwa's, when she wasn't snaking it up. She wore a sort of green track suit, form fitted to her body, although he would have thought a normal human would be cold in a tank top this time of night.

"As much fun as it would be, I'm not actually here to fight."

"Then what are you here for?"

"Been watching you. Impressive."

Beside him, he could sense Mona tense at the woman's suggestive tone. The whole scenario was so bizarre he wasn't sure how to react. Was this some kind of game or trick?

"Didn't answer my question lady."

"Lady? Call me Joi, Raph." Mona was now coiled to strike. How did she know his name?

"If your brothers are half as good as you, I might be interested in them too, although not as much as you."

Was that a threat? He didn't have a chance to assess it as Mona charged forward with an enraged roar, throwing what would have been a very solid punch at the space Joi no longer occupied. She was behind him now. Fast. Too fast.

He spun, sais ready to block any coming attack, but she just smirked and tucked a card into one of the fold of his suit before he could stop her. Then, in a green blur, she was gone again, moving like lightning to the other roof ledge, causing the three of them to form a triangle atop the building.

"I suppose the offer should extend to lizard girl too. If you ever get bored with thumping nobodies and actually want to make a real difference protecting people, give me a call."

And she was gone. He pulled out the card. It was blank accept for a phone number. Mona plucked it out of his hand, her eyes flashing with rage. For a second, he was sure that she might tear it to pieces and he wouldn't have faulted her if she did. But, angry or not, Mona was smart.

"Let's get home. I want Donnie to look into this."


	34. Chapter 33: Hero Worship III

**Hero Worship III:**

Zach sat alone on the dark roof, bored and irritated. Since when did Cait ditch? She always tagged along for recon. What could possibly be more important than proving the existence of mutant alien creatures in the city? It was a lot more fun when she was here to talk to. Without her, it just seemed lonely and kind of weird.

With a sigh, he lifted his low light binoculars and scanned the rooftops again. Then he saw them and felt his adrenaline spike. He knew it. He just knew it! Grabbing his camera, he zoomed in all the way and began snapping pictures of the Nightwatcher, high fiving what looked like a lizard person. He had just known that the Nightwatcher was involved with the turtle creatures somehow, if not one of them. And now he had proof. Why would the guy being hanging with a lizard person if he weren't?

Zach kept taking pictures as they climbed gracefully down a fire escape. And then the Nightwatcher lifted a manhole cover for the lizard climb into before following her down. They went down to the sewers? Of course! That made total sense. Where else would a bunch of mutant aliens have their secret headquarters?

He could find it. He knew he could. All he needed were some city blueprints. Which he had from another relatively recent project. With his collection of all the sightings, he could totally narrow down the location. Child's play. Hah, he finally had them. Then he'd show the world who was the crazy one. He'd show them.

* * *

Caitlyn staggered along after Maria, or was it Shadow now, as her new mentor led her home, trying to process what had happened. Shadow had taken her to what seemed like an abandoned warehouse in the industrial district, except that it was full of Purple Dragon gang members.

She had thought she might faint the moment they walked inside. Except everyone seemed to know, like and respect Shadow. Scary. But Shadow only briefly acknowledged them, in a hurry to drag Cait up to the second floor. If she thought that she'd been frightened downstairs, she'd been wrong.

Upstairs, reviewing maps of the city, marked up with symbols and notes, was the most terrifying person yet. It shouldn't have been, considering that she was neither large nor burly, but there was something in her presence that commanded respect. Angel seemed an ironic name for someone who clearly had a lot more demon in her.

Needless to say, Angel had been underwhelmed with Shadow's new recruit, but had a soft spot for the book girl. So instead of tossing Cait out on her butt, she'd let her in on probation and made her Shadow's responsibility.

Then Angel had gotten an important phone call and taken off, saying that she had 'business' to attend to. Leaving Cait with Shadow for the remainder of the evening. When Shadow had taken her to the room with the mat on the floor to teach her some basics, she'd thought that it was better than going back down to the gang filled lower floor. Until she discovered that Shadow was just as brutal as her brother when it came to training. Seriously she was not going to be able to move tomorrow.

And she'd apparently acquired her rival as her new BFF. Well maybe rival. She may as well deal with her original mission objective while she could and maybe this mess wouldn't all have been for nothing.

"So, uh, Shadow…" Shadow paused her excited rambling to offer Cait her full attention.

"Right before I ran into you, I noticed you talking with your boyfriend and…" Shadow's expression clouded with confusion for a second before realization hit.

"Boyfriend? You mean Fong? Lord no! Eww. He's just another Dragon." Well crap. Still a rival then.

"Anyway tomorrow I was thinking…" Cait sighed as Shadow's ramble resumed. This had certainly gotten complicated fast.

* * *

Shadow had a bounce in her step as she walked home. She wasn't used to having friends. Well ordinary friends. Not that her extraordinary friends weren't great. They were the most amazing thing that had ever happened to her and made her feel unique and special in what was otherwise a kind of boring reality. But she had kind of felt like she was missing out on something important.

And making her new friends had been so easy. Odd that it had never seemed easy before. Oh well, she had them now and they were hers. Missing puzzle piece found. Sure, bringing Cait into the Dragons rendered her somewhat less normal, but Shadow was as odd and out of place among the vigilantes as she was everywhere else. It would be good to have someone she could really connect with in that part of her life.

That and if she didn't include Cait into some part of her unusual existence, she wouldn't be able to talk to her about anything. Besides they were going to get Cait's dragon tattoo tomorrow. It was so exciting, even if Cait seemed a little freaked out. Sure she'd been looking for a gym and had found herself inducted into a street gang, but combat training would be way better exercise than anything she could have found in a fitness center, so it worked out in everyone's best interest.

She'd just turned a corner when she saw Alopex come around another. And slam a young man against a wall. Wait, he looked familiar. Oh no, Alopex had Walt! And then dropped him and took off again. While it was a relief that Alopex had no legitimate reason to attack Walt, she was now left with a problem.

Walt was now a member of the 'mutant aware' part of society and his introduction had been less than ideal. Of the various ways this could resolve, she was now picturing him either tied up in a straightjacket in a room with padded walls or becoming a frighteningly kick ass hunter who indiscriminately executed all mutants, it could not end well. Easy imagination. Calm down. The situation was still manageable. Time for her to step in and save the day. She strode over to where he'd sunk to the ground against the wall, gaping in the direction where Alopex had disappeared.

"Walt, are you ok?" His head snapped over towards her and he relaxed slightly at the sight of her.

"Maria?"

"You look like you've seen a ghost. Or had your ass kicked. Or both." Ok that was probably not the best lead off for diffusing the situation.

"I…uh…no, I'm fine." Focus on calm and normal.

"The city can be a bit creepy this late at night. I've had my mind play tricks on me a few times, but I'm pretty imaginative, so I probably can't help it. Except those probably aren't imaginary bruises. Well there are jerks in the city too. Hope the other guy looks worse, right?" Oh man she was bad at this. He looked like he wanted to argue but was afraid of coming off as crazy.

"What are you doing out so late?" Good. Her question seemed to pull him back onto saner ground.

"Zach goes out a lot at night for…research. I tend to worry about him, so I usually take a walk myself. It's good to kill time until he gets home." She cringed. So much for his calming ritual.

"What about your parents?" He grinned sheepishly.

"Uh, they think we're both in bed."

"Would you like some company walking back?"

"Yes." He realized that he'd answered both too quickly and too emphatically, but she made an effort not to react to it.

"Lead the way."

He tried getting up, but Alopex had slammed him pretty hard and left some unpleasant looking scratches on his shoulder. She really hoped that he didn't need stitches. Maybe she could patch it up fine on her own.

Seeing him having trouble rising, she reached out and put his uninjured arm around her shoulders, helping him up. He supported his own weight as best he could, but still leaned heavily on her. With her training, she easily held him. Having him in such proximity spread a comforting warmth throughout her body, seeming to radiate from their contact.

"So, uh, direct the way."

He didn't say much other than the specific directions back to his building. She suspected that he might be a bit embarrassed by the situation. Upon reaching their destination, as he looked up dubiously at the fire escape on the side, she arrived at the full implications of him sneaking out. He would have to sneak back in or face the consequences. Well it should be a snap. The bottom ladder was even left lowered from his and/or Zach's earlier exit. Child's play.

"Come on! I'll help you up." He looked at her wide eyed.

"What? You've met my brother right?" He chuckled ruefully and she knew she'd successfully explained away any extreme athletic idiosyncrasies. A half hour later, she'd managed to half encourage, half drag him up to his floor and he was pushing open the window to what looked like…a bathroom?

Well this building had an interesting architect. Who wouldn't want to squeeze through the tiniest available room when fleeing en masse from fiery doom? To his surprise and possibly a little discomfort, she wasn't exactly sure as her interpersonal skills for reading people had always been a little weak, she followed him in.

"Uh Maria…"

"You should probably get the lights…oh and a first aid kit if one is available."

"What?"

"You've got some scratches that look like they ought to be cleaned out."

He suddenly remembered his shoulder and winced as the pain hit anew. Following her instructions, he flipped the light switch and handed her a white plastic box with a red cross on it. She gestured to him to sit on the toilet while she rummaged through the medical supplies. Moistening a wash cloth, she rubbed one corner with soap and turned back to him.

"Umm, your shirt…"

Realizing belatedly that it was in the way, he peeled his t-shirt up and over his head, sucking in a sharp, pained breath as he did so and tossed it in the nearby hamper. Her cheeks burned as she watched and she tried to will the redness away. She was a trained kunoichi after all. Sort of.

He was blushing too and avoided eye contact, while she carefully cleaned and rinsed each claw gouge doing her level best to not notice how well her brother's hockey lessons were working for his physique. The silence was almost painfully awkward as she pulled the cuts together with butterfly bandages after slathering them with antibiotic ointment, trying to find the right words to smooth the whole incident over.

Finally taping a gauze pad over it, she realized that she'd run out of time and needed to say something or the opportunity would be lost. Come on. She could do it. It should be just like writing. She just needed him to not freak out. To not see a nightmare in everything that defied rational explanation.

"You know…of all the mysterious, inexplicable things in the world, I've always believed there's more cause for awe than fear."

At her words, he turned to face her and she realized that they were mere inches apart. And that her words were vague enough to apply to this moment, unintentional or not. After a second's hesitation he started to lean in towards her and she suddenly realized just how much she wanted him to. And then a crash from out in the hallway broke the spell and they both pulled back in embarrassment.

"Zach?"

Walt stood up and hurried out of the bathroom. Not sure what else to do as it felt strangely impolite to leave without a proper goodbye, she followed him. He boldly shoved open a door covered in signs saying things like 'top secret' and 'do not enter' undeterred by their ominous messages. She understood. Her brother had futilely tried a similar tactic when they were kids. It never worked.

"Zach what are you doing?" So his brother had made it home first then?

"Sorry, I knocked over my lamp. I'll glue it back together later. Good thing I took the bulb out weeks ago for that lighting rig."

She scooted up next to Walt and had to fight an audible gasp. The room looked very much as she'd imagined Mr. Kurtzman's apartment would look like when the kooky old man had been described to her.

He had two full magnetic whiteboards covered in pictures and colorful sticky notes with dry erase writing and labeled arrows everywhere, connecting everything in some elaborate color coded system. Another side of the room, held a large cork board with all kinds of notes and documents pinned up with colorful pieces of yarn linking items. The rest of the room looked like a chaotic disaster of clothing, binders and notebooks and homemade equipment that would make her brother proud.

But the real source of her almost gasp was the content. Her friend Zach was hunting the turtles, her turtles, and from the looks of it was dangerously close to identifying them. Walt sighed as Zach finally surfaced from the trunk he'd been digging through, holding up his prize, which appeared to be layers of blueprints or schematics. Donnie would have known which they were.

"Zach…"

"I saw them today. I totally saw them. And I told you the Nightwatcher was one of them. He and some lizard creature were using a manhole cover to access the sewers."

"Zach…"

"Of course they live underground. It's so obvious now. And seeing where they went down, I can narrow down the most habitable locations they might be nesting. Good thing I still have these infrastructure prints from that treasure hunt."

"The one where you got lost and the city of New York kindly informed our family to keep you out of their sewers?"

"Yup, that's the one. I'll find them in no time now."

No. She had to warn the turtles. Maybe there was some way this wouldn't end in disaster. Oh crud, she was starting to hyperventilate. And now both boys were suddenly aware that she was present.

"Oh, hey Maria. What are you doing here?" Zach ran a hand nervously through his hair and Walt groaned and covered his face.

"It's just a silly hobby. He's not…"

"I have to go."

She fled the room and out of the apartment to a chorus of 'wait!' knowing that somehow she needed to fix this and that step one was fill everyone in on the problem. After that…she had no idea. Oh what was she going to do?


	35. Chapter 34: Adaptable III

**Adaptable III:**

"Donnie!"

Raph burst into his brother's lab without preamble, just as he had been asked not to a thousand times before. Some things were not inclined to change. Donnie and April were facing the cot, which was strange because he had no idea April was even coming over tonight and because Donnie was supposed to be sitting in front of his computer, working some magic to help Mona. The both spun around at the sound of his voice. Donnie raised his hands calmingly, which consistently made Raph angrier.

"It's done and her new phone is on the desk, but we've got…"

"Thanks and we have another problem." As he cut Donnie off, Mona stuck the card into Donnie's hand and he watched as his brother fumbled to keep from dropping it.

"Wuh?"

It was always nice to leave the genius at a loss for words, though not as nice as when it happened to Mikey, an even rarer occurrence, but he was still too on edge from the encounter to bask in the moment.

"Someone…approached us after the mission." Mona scoffed at his choice of words and she was right, but he didn't feel like admitting to Donnie that they'd been toyed with.

"A Woman…looked human, but was impossibly fast."

"Raph just because…"

"No Donnie, I mean that she literally moved faster than should have been humanly possible. Like if I hadn't caught a slight blur of motion, I would have thought that she was teleporting." The brought a frown as he managed to convince his brother that this wasn't just wounded pride.

"Apparently, she's been watching for a while." He pretended not to hear as Mona muttered "creepy."

"She knows about you and Mikey too and was trying to recruit us for something, though she wouldn't say what. Just left that card and said to call if we wanted to stop playing around with lowlife nobodies." Donnie nodded thoughtfully.

"Ok, I'll look into it when I get the chance, but if she's smart, it will probably be a burner phone paid in cash, so the best I might be able to get is a location if it's on."

"It's a start and…Donnie who is that?"

He finally noticed the human man, shirtless in torn, ragged jeans, sitting on the cot beyond April and Donnie with his head in his hands.

"I'll explain in a minute. Could ask Sensei and Mikey to come in?"

"Uh, sure."

His mind reeled at the shock of having yet another new stranger in their secret lair. What part of secret did nobody seem to understand? Well it sounded like they were all going to get the explanation together for some reason. Although that reason was probably so there would be someone to hold him back when this sunk in and he tried to throttle his brother. He climbed the stairs to the dojo.

"Mikey, Donnie wants…are you making Kraang balloon animals?" Mikey looked up from the tangle of pink balloon he was working on, sitting on the floor surrounded by half a dozen inflatable alien brain creatures.

"Do I even want to know?"

"It's for my routine. Cowabunga Carl has to fight off the alien invaders with the help of the kiddies."

"Seriously?"

"Little kids are violent dude. It helps if they have something to hit other than me. Besides, who doesn't like squishing Kraang?"

"You know there are a lot of people still traumatized by the invasion right?"

"That was forever ago. We can totally laugh about it now. Besides, everybody likes squishing Kraang. Come on try it. You know you want to." With a sigh, he stomped the nearest balloon Kraang with a satisfying pop. Ok that was a little fun.

"See. Told ya. Oh and no eating the taffy apple pizzas in the fridge. They're for work tomorrow."

Though his mouth watered a bit at the mention of it, he refused to show it. Mikey was some kind of culinary enigma. He remembered the day his brother had them sample his new potential work recipes, unable to decide which one was better.

There was the taffy apple pizza that tasted like someone had baked caramel apples into a pie and the anchovy and sour cream pizza with the corn chip crust, which he suspected would have been inedible even if Mikey had used unexpired ingredients. They'd all choked down the obligatory bite of the latter before washing their mouths out and devouring the former.

He wasn't sure what was more disturbing, that Mikey thought they were equally good or that he polished off the stale fish pizza all by himself. The world must somehow taste different to Mikey. There was no other explanation. Not even Master Splinter with his less discerning rodent palate had been able to tolerate that one.

"Well, if you were already making them, you should have made extra for the family." Mikey grinned.

"Of course I did. Just wanted to hear you ask." He held his arms open for a hug and Raph just scowled at him.

"We have a guest in the lab that Donnie wants everyone to meet."

"Oooh new friends!" Mikey dashed past him in a green and orange blur.

"Ok then, I'll get Sensei." He crossed the dojo, suppressing the temptation to pop more Kraang as he went and knocked on the door to his father's room.

"Enter." He slid it open, stepped in and knelt in the familiar student position that he'd used all his life.

"What is it my son?"

"Donnie's brought a stranger home and wants everyone in the lab." Although Sensei said nothing, Raph could tell by the way his ears flattened back that his father was not pleased with this development.

"Then let us go see what your brother has to say to justify his actions."

"Hai Sensei."

He heard his father sigh in annoyance at the balloon littered dojo, but that wasn't topping the priority list right now. Raph was sure Mikey would be hearing about it later. And it would be his own fault, as usual. He should have known that the dojo was not the appropriate place for making crafts. But then again, Mikey had never really been strong on judgement.

Even now, he could see Mona running interference as Mikey tried to get past her to the new guy who hadn't looked like he was in the mood for Mikey level enthusiasm, assuming anyone ever was. Raph had barely stepped in when he heard his father call out in that commanding tone of voice that all of them knew better than to defy. Well at least defy openly anyway.

"Donatello! Explain yourself." His brother snapped to attention and immediately began to stutter and stumble over his words.

"Uh, you see, it's, um…" April saved him.

"I told Donnie to bring him home."

"April?" The implication of the first time she'd brought Irma, or who she'd thought to be Irma, to the lair hung uncomfortably in the air, but April was stubborn and undeterred.

"We checked and he is, or was, normal human with no connections to any of our enemies. He's been the best friend of Irma's new boyfriend Keno for years. His name is Carter."

"And he is in our home because?"

"He was going to get discovered if we left him at his apartment. It's a miracle, no one else found him already. We made sure he had no idea where he was going when we brought him, so our secret is safe. And I promised Irma we'd help him." At that last her face fell and Raph knew that something had gone wrong with that part of the plan. Donnie cleared his throat, having now apparently composed himself.

"He accidentally stumbled across a Kraang lab, working on Miwa's condition back when they were allied with the Shredder. His condition is similar to hers. I…I don't think I can reverse it." An outburst behind Donnie and April drew everyone's attention.

"Well that's just freakin' fantastic! What am I supposed to do now?!" As he spoke, Carter nearly double in size, sprouted yellow scales and shoulder spikes. Everyone involuntarily backed up a step or two as Donnie proceeded to explain.

"His transformations are kind of keyed to his emotions right now."

"Woah." April ignored Mikey as she placed a calming hand on Carter's forearm.

"Easy now." He sat back down, his shoulders slumping as his anger dissipated into depression.

"Easy for you to say." She smiled.

"If it helps, I'm not entirely human either."

"Somehow no, that isn't comforting at all."

"I got it!" They all turned to Mikey and Raph groaned. Nothing good could come of this.

"The Enforcer." To Raph's surprise, Donnie beat him to the punch, smacking Mikey upside the head.

"You are not giving Carter a monster name!"

"But dude, look at him. It's perfect."

"Mikey!" His youngest brother quieted as he, Donnie Mona and April yelled at him in unison. April turned back to Carter.

"With some practice, you can probably learn to control it and will be able to pass for human whenever you want. I know that it's not what you wanted, but it's something." He took a deep, calming breath that they all suspected was more April's influence than he knew.

"You really think that's possible?"

"I know it is because you're not the only one like this. And Miwa, the girl with a mutation similar to yours, will be back in a few weeks and I'm sure she'll be happy to help you." Raph snorted, earning himself glares from most to the people in the room. He glared back, unwilling to apologize for being honest.

"But until you have it under control, you may want to lie low. I know you won't get your tuition back now, but you'll probably have to drop your classes for this semester unless you can arrange some kind of alternative with your instructors that doesn't require you to be present. We'll all help any way we can. I promise." Carter nodded numbly as he absorbed all of this, his form slowly reverting to its human shape.

"I can't go back to my apartment. What if someone sees me?" Master Splinter sighed.

"We have some spare rooms available at the moment. You may remain with us until you have your abilities under control." Carter managed a halfhearted smile.

"Thank you…?" April jumped back in, abruptly realizing that he only knew her and Donnie.

"That's Master Splinter. The red turtle is Raph and the orange turtle is Mikey. They're Donnie's brothers. And she's Mona Lisa."

"Sister?"

"Girlfriend." Raph wrapped an arm around Mona's shoulders and pulled her in towards him as he spoke. Then Shadow suddenly burst into the lab.

"Guys, we have a problem!"


	36. Chapter 35: Players and Pawns I

**Players and Pawns I:**

Dr. Eric Sacks slammed the phone down and buried his head in his hands, wondering how everything could have fallen apart so quickly. He'd had everything and now it was all crumbling to dust. His son was going to go to prison over a few youthful indiscretions and there was nothing he could do to stop it. This time.

Given the very public scandal over his earlier bribes to make his son's mistakes go away, with Internal Investigations breathing down their necks, none of his friends would be willing to hear him out, even if he could afford to do anything. There was too much evidence already made too public, although how it happened he would never know.

He didn't understand it. His son was supposed to be a success. If anyone ended up in prison, it should have been his wild, rebellious niece. She was the one always listening to angry music. She was the one who looked the part, with her over the top make up, unnaturally dyed hair, tattoos and piercings.

Ok, technically that wasn't completely accurate. Well the makeup and hair were, but she wore temporary tattoos and magnetic piercings as she had some kind of agreement with her parents not to do anything permanent until after she turned eighteen. But that wasn't the point. She looked like she belonged in prison, not his son. And yet his son was being incarcerated and his niece had been recruited by the EDF straight out of high school. How was that fair?

Not that he would ever understand his sister's family. He had earned his vapid, trophy wife by virtue of his wealth and success. Unattached to him, his sister Amelia had none of those things. He'd employed her as a manager out of a sense of family loyalty. But unlike him, she was neither brilliant nor ambitious.

All they shared were their less than impressive family looks. Ash brown hair, if that even counted as a color, and milky blue eyes, the shade of cataracts, weren't enough. They're faces were too long and their noses too large, their mouths too wide and their eyes set too closely together. No they shouldn't have been able to get anywhere based on appearance.

Fortunately for him, he had his intelligence and wiles. All Ami had was a naïve sense of kindness that always attracted bullies like flies to rotting meat, whom she would inevitably forgive not matter how cruel they were. It drove him insane.

He could never quite figure out how she'd landed Darryl. The man had been the attractive playboy scion of an old money family. They had come to Sacks Incorporated when Darryl's father was losing the battle with some kind of cancer or another, wanting custom built medical equipment to make the doomed man comfortable in his final days.

Eric hadn't been especially interested, but the money was good, very good. So he accepted and handed the project off to Ty, that traitor, while his Ami dealt with the family. Somehow during the commission, Darryl had abandoned his skirt chasing ways to fall for Ami of all people. It made no sense and he'd hidden a sense of vindicated glee when their daughter developed into such an insane mess.

But now she was the success and his own child the failure and he couldn't fix it. Not with the money he would shortly no longer have. Somehow his private files had been leaked to the media and now he was facing a mountain of lawsuits that threatened to destroy him. Just because he'd doctored some data to move his products through unfair government regulation more quickly. It was infuriating and unjust. His intercom buzzed.

"Yes."

"A Ms. Carpenter here to see you."

He sucked in a sharp breath. Winters's legal consultant. He'd blown her off last time she'd come around, flush with cash from Komodo Industries and feeling untouchable. Why would he accept a bunch of contracts binding him to Winters, like some kind of lackey? Now he was vulnerable and she was back. Damn.

"Send her in." To her credit, she never broke that veneer of professionalism to gloat.

"Dr. Sacks. It's good to see you again."

"And you? I presume you've come to renew your offer." She gave him a clearly false apologetic smile.

"I'm afraid that opportunity has passed Dr. Sacks. Mr. Winters still wants you for the same project, but not as an independent contractor any more, even if such a thing were possible." Eric couldn't help but cringe at the reference to his imploding company.

"So what are his terms then?"

"He is willing to employ you as a project manager."

"Employ? Me?"

"Let's be honest Dr. Sacks. There is no way your company can survive this, even if we don't count the additional scandal with your son. So either you can go down with the ship or our legal team can pin the specific blame on some of your other employees. If you play ignorant, we can provide you with amnesty, assuming we have incentive to."

She pushed the contract towards him and with a sinking stomach he flipped through it. Winters would essentially own him. But if he didn't, he would be joining Will in prison. Well, it was better than relying on excessive quantities of Ambien to deal with the crises as his wife had. Who knew? Perhaps in time he could find a way out of this enforced servitude. Clutching the pen tightly, he signed.


	37. Chapter 36: Teamwork II

**Teamwork II:**

"Will got arrested for what?!" Candy almost dropped her phone as her voice rose an octave, but what her mother had just told her felt like a punch to the face. Sure her cousin had always been kind of an ass, but she'd never thought…

"Please dear don't make me repeat it."

"I just…are you sure?"

"Yes. Your father and his lawyer looked at the case files yesterday."

"And?"

"We're not paying to have Will represented in court."

"So he's guilty then." Candy thought she was going to be sick. How could she be related to someone so, so…

"I'm sorry honey, but I thought you'd better hear it from me first. It's all over the media here, but I'm not sure how easy it is for you to get American news there."

"No, I definitely heard it from you first mom. Wait! Why would dad need to swoop in and save him? Where's Uncle Eric?"

"Uh, about that. Your uncle is busy being indicted by the government. Apparently, all his assets have been frozen and he's awaiting his arraignment."

"What!? What did Uncle Eric do?!" Another octave higher.

"It seems he's been falsifying his research data since…well always I think. And since he had several important government contracts, well you know…"

"Holy crap." Candy sank back into her chair, processing that a whole branch of her family had turned out to be reprehensible criminals.

"I'm sorry it turned out this way, but I'd rather you hear it from me."

"Yeah I know. Thanks mom."

"Oh, and I'm glad to hear that you're liking your new job."

"Uh huh." Suddenly she didn't feel like gushing about her work anymore.

"I'd probably better go mom. I'll talk to you later."

"Okay sweetie, bye."

Candy was too numb from the news to even cringe at that last term of endearment that her parents always thought was so cute because they'd named her something sweet. It was not cute and they were nuts. But this…crazy or not, at least they weren't monsters. A knock interrupted her thoughts and she struggled to gather herself.

"Yes?" The door to her office opened and Dr. Rockwell floated in.

"I apologize for the interruption, however I couldn't help but overhear." Yup, she'd definitely been loud enough. They probably could have heard her over in mainland China.

"It's just messed up family stuff."

"Would you terribly mind me asking about Dr. Sacks?" Her eyes narrowed.

"Why? And how do you know that name?" Rockwell shifted uncomfortably.

"You probably don't remember, but we've actually met before."

"What?"

"You were quite young and I was human then."

"I don't understand." He sighed.

"Eric and I went to the same schools and we actually started his business together. He was my best friend." She blinked in shock as she connected the memory of her uncle's old colleague to the levitating mutant in front of her.

"But…what happened?"

"Well he always had a head for business, so I was happy to let him run things. As long as I could concentrate on my work, I didn't really care about much else. Until…well we had a bit of an unresolvable disagreement." Candy frowned.

"What kind of disagreement?"

"I would prefer not to disparage you uncle's character…"

"He's about to go down for lying about all his research. There's not much left to disparage." Rockwell looked sad but not entirely surprised.

"Very well then. He started requesting I…adjust some of my experimental results. Our relationship became increasingly strained as he kept asking and I kept refusing until ultimately I left the company. I'm sorry to hear about how things have gone for him."

"Uh, not to sound nosy, but what happened to you after that?" Rockwell sighed even more deeply this time.

"I apparently do not have good judgement when it comes to choosing colleagues. I began working with a man named Victor Falco and if there is any justice in the world at all, he is dead." Candy's eyes widened at the vehemence in the scientist's normally refined tone.

"It turned out that he was working for the Kraang long before they invaded New York, in order to get samples of their mutagen and fulfill his desire to give himself psychic powers. I…I ended up as his very unwilling test subject in that." Candy gasped.

"That's how you…?"

"Yes, that was the end of my humanity. And between the transformation and the…unpleasantness of what he did to me…" Well that was a euphemism for torture if she ever heard one. "…I lost myself for a while and it was a long and painful road finding my way back."

"I'm sorry to hear that."

"But I digress. Despite everything, Eric was a cherished friend and, not to be forward, I do consider you as dear as family. If ever you require anything, you need only ask." She managed a small smile.

"Thanks Doc. I appreciate that."

He nodded and floated out of her office again. Candy's head swirled with the overflow of information. It was too much. She felt like she'd go nuts if she just sat in place chasing her thoughts in circles. She needed to move, distract herself. Her course of action decided, she stood and began aimlessly wandering the halls as her mind still hounded her.

And then she heard the music, driving back the assault of her thoughts and luring her towards it like a siren. She didn't even realize that she'd forgotten to knock until she had already pushed the door open and the playing abruptly stopped. She was in Mondo's room and he sat on his bed, holding an electric guitar and gaping at her.

"Uh…"

"Please don't stop."

"What?"

"You were playing Through the Fire and Flames by Dragonforce, right? I could actually use some power metal right now." His jaw fell open and she had to fight back a laugh. He wouldn't be so surprised if she'd been allowed to stay true to her style.

"You know Dragonforce?" She grinned.

"Of course. Not many bands can rock a keytar and I love their hairography." He laughed and some of the awkwardness dissipated.

"Well, I could try, but not everybody appreciates my playing. Umeko made Slash confiscate my amp, so it probably won't sound right." She smiled.

"That's too bad. You're pretty good. And I know what I'm talking about. I kind of ran a metal music fan organization back in high school. I don't know if you've ever heard of Metal Resurrection and Domination? Sorry that the name's a little cheesy. Once again, I was in high school." Mondo gasped.

"That was you!? I was totally on board. MetalSkater75. Not that you'd know every member, but it was so awesome." She blushed.

"Really? Thanks. Metal's kind of my passion, so trust me when I say that you're good. You should absolutely be in a band." Mondo looked a bit embarrassed.

"I don't know if that would work even in the metal community." He gestured towards himself.

"I like the way you look." The words were out of her mouth before she had a chance to think about them and they both flushed. He recovered first.

"Besides, I can do covers but I'm not so great at writing my own original stuff and I can't sing or drum, so I'm not exactly a one man band here." Candy was not about to be deterred by simple logistics. She was going to make this happen.

"Don't worry. That's what the internet is for. You can totally find some bandmates to fill in the gaps. Your band can start producing stuff for YouTube! I even have the perfect name for it. What do you think of Merciless Slaughter?" Mondo couldn't help laughing good-naturedly. The way Candy talked it almost seemed possible.

"I love it. Totally metal."

"Come on. We can do this." He shifted uncertainly, having a hard time fighting the pull of her enthusiasm.

"I don't know." And then she was on the bed, her face inches from his and he was having trouble remembering how to breathe.

"Please. I'll be your first groupie."

All he could do was nod.


	38. Chapter 37: Hero Worship IV

**Hero Worship IV:**

Shadow had truly intended to be a lot more sympathetic and supportive. She really had. But last night's bombshell had really thrown her. Donnie had assured her that he had it covered and in any other circumstance that would have been more than enough, but they hadn't seemed appropriately concerned when she'd told them.

True, Zach was just a kid, but they hadn't met him and didn't see the tenacity that he'd exhibited last night. Zach was on a mission. He was under the impression that her friends were the bad guys and was out to take them down. Considering the things that they had done at the same age, you'd think they wouldn't be so quick to write him off.

If only she could explain and convince him that he was mistaken. Wait, why couldn't she? Since he'd already figured out so much on his own, it wouldn't be like she was betraying the big secret. He already knew and was on the verge of pinning down their location. Proving that they were heroes would be in everyone's best interest.

"Ah! Ow! Why!" Cait's yelps drew her out of her ruminations long enough to toss her besty an encouraging, double thumbs up in exchange for a scowl.

"You're doing great!"

"Bite me!"

She wouldn't take that to heart. It was only fair to cut people slack in times of distress. And considering that Cait seemed to hate needles as much as she did, getting a tattoo absolutely counted. But it was Dragon protocol.

Despite all her brutal combat training, Shad had still almost fainted when she'd had to go through it. And it didn't exactly help that the official gang ink artist had the seediest shop ever. Seriously, just being here made her skin crawl and she wasn't the one at greatest risk of infection. Well, if the situation ever came up again, she'd do a much better job of comforting Cait next time.

Back to her problem. Sure she could just go tell Zach. But would he take her word for it? Maybe he would need proof. To meet one of them, before busting into their home guns blazing, metaphorically, she hoped. She needed someone who could convince him that they were heroes. Someone innocuous. Someone unintimidating. Someone who would agree to it. She knew just who to ask.

"Hang on Cait, I've got to make a call." Her friend merely glared at her in response until the artist did something to make her cringe.

"You'll be fine." She quickly slipped out of the shop and picked him out of the quick contacts on her phone. He answered on the third ring.

"S'up!"

"Mikey, it's Shad."

"Hey little S."

"Mikey don't call me that. Anyway, can I ask a favor?"

"Name it."

"I have a friend that I'd really like you to meet…"

"Awesome-sauce, I love meeting friends!" Maybe this wasn't such a great idea, but she was kind of committed at this point.

"Would today work?"

"Kinda got a party to get to now, but I'm totes free after five."

"Great! Just pull the party wagon into the alley behind my building and I'll bring him down."

"Cools. See ya little S."

"I said not to…"

He'd already hung up. She sighed and hoped that this wouldn't come back to bite her. Now, she just needed to handle the Zach end of this. Maybe she could buy Cait an ice cream later to make up for ditching. When she went back in to apologize, Cait was just ending a phone call as she gingerly shouldered her sweater back on.

"Oh great, you're done! Good job and I need to go. I'll call you later, 'k"

Before Cait had a chance to respond, she dashed out, leaving her open-mouthed friend, staring in her wake.

* * *

Walt lay sprawled out on the couch, not reading. His thoughts were too much of a jumble to focus on anything at the moment, but the book was a good prop to deter attempts at casual conversation from his parents.

The worst part was that the demon-werewolf attack was not topping his list of concerns. That should be concerning in and of itself. He unconsciously reached to touch his wounded shoulder and his mind went back to last night in the bathroom. She'd been so close. He'd thought for sure that…

If only Zach hadn't interrupted with his usual insane weirdness and then scared her off. She'd probably never speak to them again after seeing the true extent of his little brother's crazy. He loved Zach, but sometimes he hated him too.

The worst part was that his brother had no clue why he was so pissed, but knowing how Zach felt about her too, he couldn't just come out and tell him about his near miss with her. So he'd just absolutely blown up at Zach and he was still way to angry to apologize.

Maybe tomorrow, he'd have enough distance to be able to speak civilly to him. But right now all he could think about was the warmth of her fingers on his shoulder, the faint scent of lilac in her hair as she'd helped him home and the look on her face when she'd fled them.

"Walt." At the sound of his mother's voice, he lowered the book and looked her in the eyes as she'd trained him to do when he was expected to be giving her his full attention.

"Yeah?"

"You're friend Maria is at the door."

"What?"

He barely felt the book sliding from his grasp. Before his mother could repeat herself, he was up and off the couch, sprinting towards the door, ignoring his screaming cuts and bruises. Her eyes widened in surprise as he had to skid to a halt in the narrow hallway that separated the entrance of their home from the rest of the living space. He mentally smacked himself. Be cool or she'll run again.

"Uh, hey." She smiled and he could feel his own face mirroring the expression.

"Hey. Is Zach here?" The question hit like a gut punch and for a moment he was rendered speechless. Behind him, he could hear his mom answer.

"I'm afraid not. He just left about an hour ago. He said that he was visiting Caitlyn." Maria pasted a false smile on her face.

"Oh. That's, uh, great. Walt and I are going for a walk."

"Have fun."

He'd barely been keeping up with the conversation, when Maria grabbed his arm and pulled him out of the apartment. He stumbled after her. The moment the door shut, she pulled him close and his already reeling mind was distracted by that phantom scent of lilac again.

"I need to find Zach, like immediately. Can you help me?"

She wanted Zach? After everything that had happened, it was Zach? He couldn't wrap his head around it. With a valiant effort, he struggled to hide his confusion and disappointment as he attempted for formulate an answer to her request. It wasn't easy when it felt like his world had been completely up-ended. Apparently, he hadn't done such a hot job of hiding his reaction. She let out a small gasp and her eyes glistened as she clasped her hands around his.

"No, I didn't mean…it's not like…he's not the…"

Ok, now he was officially lost. And then her fingers brushed against his cheek and all that mattered was the traces of heat they left along his skin. She suddenly jerked her hand away and turned bright read as his mind rebooted. Biting her lip, she came to some kind of decision.

"Is there somewhere private we can go?"

His heart started galloping as his brain frantically tried to remind him that he had no clue what was going on. Brain lost. He grabbed her hand, full of hopeful anticipation, and pulled her to the stairs, taking the steps almost two or three at a time to the top. He'd learned the clever trick for getting the lock open years ago and pulled her out onto the roof.

As far as he knew, only he and Zach could get up here and Zach was apparently off somewhere with Cait, although after their blow out last night, he shouldn't have been surprised that his brother hadn't said anything to him before taking off.

Now that he was here, his doubts caught back up with him and he wasn't sure what to do anymore. Before he could come up with some sort of neutral, unassuming transition, she took a breath and shattered his foundation for reality, again.

"You can't tell anyone this, not ever, but Zach's right. About the turtles."

"Wuh?"

"Except not about them being evil or aliens. They're heroes and my friends and I need him to understand before he puts them in danger."

"Wuh?"

He didn't want to believe that Maria was as crazy as Zach, but if he didn't, then that meant that there really were turtle people running amok in his city. No. He couldn't. He just couldn't. Not for Zach. Not even for her. Her face crumpled and he reconsidered. Well maybe for her.

"I know that I must sound crazy, but I've arranged for one of them, his name is Mikey, to meet later. Maybe if you and Zach give him a chance, you'll understand that they don't need to be hunted down." She looked so earnest, but this was just…

"Please Walt. I need your help." He answered before his brain had a chance to catch up.

"Anything."

"We need to find Zach, so he can meet Mikey with us." Screw crazy. Wherever this led, he was along for the ride.

"Uh, Zach kind of takes off a lot, so I may have installed a tracker app on his phone."

"You're amazing!"

Her sudden hug left him light headed as he silently told all his injuries to shove it whilst trying to remember how his phone worked. Three minutes later, they had Zach's approximate location, which didn't make much sense until Maria whispered.

"He's underground." Oh lord, Zach was in the sewers again. The city was totally going to sue them this time. Maria grabbed his arm.

"We need to go. Now!"

* * *

Cait caught herself absent-mindedly reaching out to touch her tattoo again and forced her hand back down. The sewers were probably the worst possible place to be with a fresh tattoo. But Zach had called and here she was. Again. Why couldn't she ever just say no? One day, he was really going to be the death of her. Doing her best to breathe through her mouth, she followed as he examined his maps again before turning down another tunnel.

"The most likely location is this way."

"Uh huh." She almost swatted her own hand as she caught herself going for the tattoo, yet again. Why did it have to sting so much? Stupid Purple Dragons. Stupid Shadow. Stupid Zach. Why?!

"We'll be switching off to an old subway line soon, so the smell should get better."

"Uh huh." Another tunnel and another assault on her tattoo by her subconscious.

"What the hell? According to the map there should be tunnel entrance here, not a wall."

"Uh huh."

"Cait are you even listening?" She sighed and immediately regretted the unintentional intake of foul air. He frowned.

"I'm beginning to question your commitment to the cause here. You flaked out last night and you don't seem all that present now." He clapped a hand on her shoulder as he spoke and she released an involuntary hiss of pain as he pressed her sweater against the raw tattoo.

"Cait?"

Before she could command her body, sore and sluggish from all the recent abuse she'd hit it with, to stop him, he pulled back the sweater and shined his head lamp down on her now exposed shoulder. Gasping, he staggered back away from her in disbelief. Unfortunately, the ink was pretty iconic. But she supposed that was the point.

"You're one of the Purple Dragons? You're in a gang? What? How? When?" Her heart clenched at his expression, like she was a total stranger, someone not to be trusted.

"I...we...we're supposed to be a team. How could you?" His voice, full of hurt and betrayal, almost spat the accusation at her. And something in her snapped.

"How could I? How could I?! How dare you! I have been following you around forever, doing EVERYTHING you want like some sad little minion, no matter how much flak I take for it, and you have the nerve to question my commitment! I spent all of sixth grade eating alien jokes because of that extraterrestrial wild goose chase you led us on!"

"In my defense, since we've been invaded by aliens I was right and people teased me too."

"Zach, my last name is Roswell! I am the bullseye of alien jokes! Oh and what about when you thought you had a lead on some secret vault that the founding fathers hid under the city? I spent eight hours lost in the sewers with you last time you led us down here and yet, here I am again, coming when I'm called like a good little dog."

"I actually figured out the wrong turn we took last time…"

"And now I've gotten roped into a gang, a GANG Zach, because I was checking up on your crush, Maria, who is apparently a veteran Dragon."

"What!?"

"And all I get for it is YOU questioning MY commitment. No. That's it. I can't do this anymore."

"Cait?"

"No matter how I feel about you, I won't be treated like this."

"How you feel? Cait are you…?" She could feel the tears building and knew that she had to get out of here. Immediately.

"I'm sorry I can't be what you need."

She turned to run, but he caught her by her uninjured shoulder and spun her back towards him. The angry confession after years of longing was too much and she couldn't look at him as she burst into tears. To her surprise, he wrapped his arms around her and pulled her close while she cried herself dry.

After what seemed like an eternity, she finally felt spent, now silently resting her cheek against his chest, feeling its rise and fall as she listened to each heartbeat. As sad as it was, there was no place she'd rather be. Then his hand stroked her cheek and lifted her chin up, forcing her to meet his eyes. Eyes that were now filled with awe and realization.

"Cait?" It was like he was seeing her for the first time.

"Zach?"

He leaned in, brushing his lips gently against hers. Her first kiss. In the sewers. And it was amazing. The next thing she knew, her hands were in his hair, grabbing fistfuls as she pulled him in towards, deepening the kiss. His arms tightened around her body lifting her up to him for better access. And unfortunately pulling them both off balance.

With a yelp of surprise, they toppled back against the wall he'd been yelling about a moment ago. And fell right through, knocking over some kind of contraption as they landed. On the upside the new passage was a bit higher up and didn't appear to contain any sewage. Cait watched as Zach picked up the smooth metal device, its standing tripod now smashed. As he moved it, the wall hologram it had been projecting moved with it.

"Whoa."

She was itching to take it apart and examine it when Zach grabbed her and pulled her against the wall. Now she could hear the sound of someone approaching. Whoever it was seemed to be riding something and whistling. Then it rounded the corner and she thought she might faint as Zach's grip on her arm tightened.

It was an anthropomorphic turtle, wearing wireless headphones, riding a skateboard, carrying a satchel full of tools. Despite their attempts at hiding, it immediately caught sight of them and she couldn't help it. She screamed. Which caused the turtle to scream. Which caused Zach to scream. And then echoing laughter broke through the group panic and they all turned to see the skateboarder that had been following the turtle.

"Best. Ninja. Ever." He managed between laughs. The turtle became indignant.

"Well, they shouldn't have been here. Something must have gone wrong with the projector."

"Don't you have sensors or something that could have alerted you?"

"The one here is down. That's why we came all the way out here. To repair it. Unfortunately, the sewers are not the best environment for running electronics, so they need a lot of maintenance." Following the exchange, she found herself unable to speak. Zach could though.

"Coach Casey?" He squinted at them.

"Zach? Caitlyn? What are you guys doing down here?" Before either of them could reply, Shadow burst what had been the false wall, followed closely by Walt.

"Don't freak out! I can explain everything!"


	39. Chapter 38: Defiant II

**Defiant II:**

Mikey hung up cheerfully, humming to himself. Another new friend? And he got to meet whoever it was first. This was the best week ever. The only thing that could have made it better would have been a visit from Renet, but he supposed she was still on lockdown after their last adventure. Too bad. She was super fun.

Otherwise, he was absolutely rocking today. The Kraang balloons had been a huge hit at the party he'd just come from. Total genius. And they all said Donnie was the smart one. It was like no one even remembered how he'd owned Dimension X every time they'd gone. Well his brothers would respect him now that he wasn't always coming back from work covered in bruises. Or at least not tease him so much.

Time to switch to party mode. This one was for a Cowabunga Carl fan. Stuffing his chucks, kusarigama and spare shruiken under the passenger seat, he equipped his foam nunchaku and slipped on his humongous turtle mask. Perfect. He was ready.

Grabbing up the second taffy apple pizza and his other mesh bag of pop-Kraang, he left the party wagon parked in the alley behind the building. It was certainly a fancy high rise. He hadn't been in one like this before. Cool. Pressing the buzzer for the apartment number, he waited, practically bouncing in excitement. A woman's voice answered and there wasn't even that usual speaker crackle. Super fancy.

"Yes?"

"Cowabunga Carl ready to party!"

"Oh! Wonderful! Come on up." She buzzed him in. Minutes later he was several floors up, knocking on her door. Which opened to an attractive, and surprisingly young, woman. Eh, kids were fun. At least when they weren't beating on you. He couldn't fault her for starting early.

"Come on in. Ooh, is that for the party?"

"Taffy apple pizza! My own recipe. Comes with the service." She smiled.

"I must have missed that on the flyer.

"Aww. I used special funt and everything."

"Font?"

"Yeah, what I said."

She led him into the small room that served as an entrance to the very large apartment. In the next room, he could hear the sounds of children running and playing and felt a small moment of panic before reminding himself that he had the balloon decoys now.

The woman set his dish on a table, spread out with food, most of which he didn't actually recognize, although the five plates of centerpiece sweets looked kind of familiar. She caught him eyeing them.

"I know the cuisine is a bit different. My family is Japanese. Well I'm only part Japanese but we've mostly lived in Japan. Our move to the U. S. is pretty recent."

"No probs. My dad is Japanese."

"Oh, really? Well, then you might appreciate the desserts I made. They're like candy mochi." Mikey gasped in anticipation.

"Mochi? My aunt made kinako mochi this last New Year and it was amazeballs!"

"Well I've got an daifuku, shiro an daifuku, ichigo daifuku, yomogi daifuku and yukimi daifuku." He hesitated in confusion. Weren't they talking about mochi? She laughed good-naturedly at his uncertainty.

"Daifuku is mochi stuffed with filling. Let me try again. Red bean paste mochi, white bean paste mochi, strawberry mochi, mugwort mochi, trust me it's better than it sounds, and ice cream mochi."

"Whoa…" Mind blown. He was already thinking about all the amazing things he could put inside mochi. He couldn't wait to get home and experiment. His family was going to love it. His jalapeno mochi would be da bomb.

"I'm going to go check on the kids. Why don't you try one of each and tell me which is your favorite?"

"Will do."

The moment she left, he lifted his mask and stuffed the mochi in. They were all so good, but the last was his fav, reminding him of good times with Ice Cream Kitty. He'd have to tell her that the yummy difeeki was the best.

Time to get this show on the road. He pulled out his foam chucks and jumped into the next room with flair. Then staggered to a halt in shock before he could even call his party tagline out.

There were no kids or party decorations at all. The sounds he'd heard earlier were coming out of a speaker system on the far side of the mostly empty room. And his party guests were six kunoichi, now including his hostess, armed to the teeth and looking ready for battle. And all his weapons were down in the van. Sewer apples!

Why did he ever let Donnie convince him that having real weapons around a hoard of seven year olds was a bad idea? They'd used weapons as kids and it had been totally fine. Okay, maybe they'd been eleven when Sensei finally let them train with weaponry and describing it as totally fine might be pushing it a little, even by his standards. Poor stubby still had a scar to this day.

He wiggled his brave toe in sympathy for the memory. Or tried to. Stubby wasn't really responding. None of them were. And the room was kind of spinning now. How did the party crashers, yes he was totally going to call them that from now on, manage to make the room move and the colors go all wavy? His hostess smiled as he began to sway.

"Enjoy the daifuku?"

Oh no. Delicious, traitor sweets! He had to bail. Like now. He turned in what felt like slow motion to flee through the door, when he sensed an attack and just barely threw himself sideways in time to avoid getting hit by one the party crasher's manriki chain, losing his oversized party mask in the process.

Another charged him with tonfas, which he dodged through a series of acrobatic flips and rolls, moving on a combination of instinct and trained reflex. But all the timing was wrong. It felt like he was trying to fight underwater. You know without all the fun floating and swimming. Well he did seem a little floaty. He hadn't felt this overwhelmed since he fought Rahzar for the centerfudge in the rafters of Stockman's lab, trying his best not to pop.

Then, mid-flip, someone cracked him in the ankles with a metal stuff, tossing him shell over head to the floor. More manrikis shot out, wrapping around his legs, body and one of his arms. With his free hand, he scrabbled clumsily for his phone. All he needed was to hit the emergency button and everything would be ok. But the phone, once free of his belt, slipped from his grasp and skittered across the floor. His hostess caught it under her foot and with a wicked smile, crushed it to pieces with a single well placed stomp. Oh shell, he was in trouble.

Thanks to Raph and Leo, Mikey was very well acquainted with the tipping point in every battle, at which he knew he was screwed and the fight was over. Granted, losses occasionally snuck up on him and took him by surprise, but most of the time, he knew it was coming. This was that moment. The major difference being that Raph and Leo would pull their punches. Sort of. He didn't think he could expect that same leniency from the party crashers.

But then again, being right really wasn't all that great. He could be wrong. He was wrong a lot, so why not now? He tried giving his hostess a pleading smile as she stared down at him and felt a flare of hope in his chest as a flicker of doubt crossed her expression. Then she turned away.

"Be careful not to damage the goods."

The hope died as someone came from behind, grabbed his free arm and twisted it behind his shell. He let out an involuntary yelp of pain as he tried arching back to lessen the pressure, at which point, whoever it was wrapped an arm around his throat. His last thought as everything went dark was that his family was totally going to miss out on the jalapeno mochi.

* * *

Cait sipped her tea, almost giddy with excitement. Zach had been right. Well of course he'd been right. No matter how crazy the theory, if he believed it, it was because there was something there to believe. She bet there even was a revolutionary era vault hidden somewhere in the sewers.

Sadly, the most amazing thing to her right now was not there were in fact turtle people living in the sewers or even that they were now sitting in a completely refurbished and fully habitable, abandoned subway station. No, it was that even though Zach was totally geeking out over their new friends, he hadn't stopped holding her hand. And that was saying something.

After Shadow had dropped the bomb about the turtle guys, almost single handedly saving New York and the world from the Kraang invasion, he'd been star struck. And when they'd headed back here, a decision made after purple turtle, er Donnie, had gotten an utterly disbelieving look at Zach's maps, apparently he'd been spot on, Zach had spied Coach Casey's gear almost immediately upon entering and realized that he was the Hockey Vigilante. And now he was gushing over them like a twelve year old girl at a boy band concert. But he was still holding her hand. This was amazing.

She let her eyes travel around the table as she floated on her own personal high. Raph, she thought that's what they said red turtle's name was, and Coach Casey looked a tad uncomfortable at the enthusiasm of their new number one fan.

A lizard girl, whom someone had called Mona, sat on a stool close enough to lean into Raph and toy with the tails of his mask. After the fit he'd thrown when they'd all shown up at the turnstiles, she would have thought that he wouldn't have much patience for little annoyances, but he'd just wrapped an arm around Mona and kept glancing over at her with the occasional knowing smirk as she ran her fingers through the fabric.

Then there was Shadow, overly apologetic, next to Walt, clearly still in a state of shock and waiting to wake up from this bizarre dream. But Cait didn't fail to notice how their eyes kept discretely meeting, followed by rapid look aways and much blushing. It was so cute, that she wasn't even going to be mad at Shadow over the whole Purple Dragon mess again until at least tomorrow. Zach was still talking excitedly.

"And now that I'm in the know, I can train with you guys and we can go out and fight crime together! Right?" Raph and Casey hesitated as they were clearly trying to figure out a way to turn him down without earning themselves a stalker, while she heard Donnie mutter something that sounded like "Pulverizer all over again." Walt cleared his throat, obviously grasping for some sense of normalcy and possibly an escape route.

"Uh, so Maria, when were you supposed to meet your friend?" Shadow's eyes shot wide.

"Oh no! Mikey's probably waiting behind our apartment!" Raph's eyes narrowed at her.

"Why?"

"I was going to introduce him to Zach to prove…to prove that you guys weren't the baddies. I totally forgot about him." Donnie crossed his arms defensively.

"And you asked Mikey?"

"Well, Leo's out of town and Raph can be a little intimidating and sometimes you come off a little mad scientisty…"

"I do not!" Which earned a scoff from Raph, Casey and Mona.

"Besides, I needed someone who would agree to it." That statement got a group nod of acceptance and a sigh. Shadow blushed sheepishly.

"I'd better call him and let him know he can come home." She pulled out an adorable turtle shaped phone and dialed. A moment later, she was staring at her phone in confusion.

"What?"

* * *

Raph tapped his foot impatiently as Shadow dialed Mikey, wondering if this day could become any more of a disaster than it already was. He looked over at the turnstiles and saw Aunt Amaya slip in, sporting such a different new look that he almost didn't recognize her. What was that about?

She glanced over at their table in puzzlement and he shrugged, indicating non-verbally that it was cool, even if it really wasn't, and that he'd explain later. She answered with an equally laconic shrug of acceptance and proceeded to the dojo. He returned his attention to the table in time to catch Shadow's dismayed expression as she looked down at her phone.

"What?"

Enough of this, he'd do it himself. Using the arm that wasn't occupied holding Mona, he pulled out his own phone and speed dialed the goofball. As a result of making calls to some of their human friends, pre-T-phone assignment, he understood that other phone networks would ring while you waited to connect in some bizarre effort to reassure the caller. But Donnie had personally built their phone network to suit their needs and hazards. It made a processing sound before an electronic voice answered in place of Mikey's ringing phone.

"T-phone destroyed." He hung up and set his phone down, looking over at Donnie.

"Mikey's phone is out of commission." Donnie frowned and immediately started typing away on his.

"The last location it connected at was…" He glanced over at Mikey's Crognard dry erase board on the fridge. "…at the second party he was working today. The address matches." Raph relaxed.

"Probably a casualty of the munchkins then?"

"So how do I tell him not to keep waiting at the apartment?" Shadow was still no less distraught. Raph watched Donnie tap his chin and could almost see the wheels turning in his head.

"Well, we can call your dad."

"He's at work. Plus, I told Mikey to wait in the van." Donnie smiled.

"No problem. I can just call the van instead." He glanced back down at his phone after a few more button pushes and frowned.

"Which is still at the party address." Raph shifted on his stool, not liking where this was heading.

"Shouldn't he be done by now? Especially if he was looking forward to meeting Shadow's new 'friend' afterwards?" Unwilling to relinquish Mona, he could only complete half the air quotes. Casey got up off his stool.

"A few subway transfers and I can get there pretty quick."

"We can help!" Raph almost recoiled as Zach jumped up enthusiastically, pulling the unfortunate young woman next to him along for the ride. Shadow, still feeling guilty, nodded and rose as well.

"Walt and I are coming too."

"What?" The boy at her side stammered before catching her eyes.

"I mean yeah. Absolutely."

Raph watched them go with a rush of irritation that the limits of daylight always imposed. Mona squeezed his shoulder reassuringly. It helped. A little. But his baby brother might be missing. He hated the sick feeling that possibility awoke in the pit of his stomach.

Mona gave him a thoughtful smile before taking his hand and pulling him away from the table. He gave her a quizzical glance but let her lead him anyway. He'd never regretted it before.

To his surprise, she brought him to Mikey's room. As Mona cleared a tiny corner of the bed to seat herself as hygienically as possible, Raph plopped down on a bean bag chair, only to discover it was a partially filled trash bag from the last time Sensei demanded Mikey clean. He tried not to think about what might be causing that squishing sensation under his shell as Mona valiantly fought not to laugh at him.

"Feel a little calmer?" To his surprise the answer was yes. Somehow, disgusting as it was, being surrounded by everything Mikey was actually having a soothing effect. He let his eyes wander over the chaos that was Mikey's collection of treasures and smiled a little, until…

"Really?"

"April's been collecting them for him whenever she finds them." Donnie didn't even look up from his lap top as he spoke. Apparently, he'd had the same thought as Mona as he carried it in and plopped down on the other end of the bed, cringing involuntarily at whatever he'd just sat in.

"Bradford is Rahzar and was the worst friend ever to Mikey. Why would he want to watch old episodes of Chris Bradford's 2 Ruff Krew?" Donnie shrugged as he typed.

"You know Mikey's always been a big fan. I suppose he just separated his idol from the actual guy in his mind." Raph frowned.

"Mikey loves sharing everything. I can't believe that he didn't insist we all watch it together." Another typing shrug.

"I guess he thought you'd make fun of him." Raph wanted to deny it, but everyone including himself knew better. Damn.

"Well, I'm watching it with him when he gets back. Is it any good?" This time Donnie did look up with a half-hearted smile.

"It's even worse than you'd expect." He winced but stood his ground.

"We're watching it first thing after he's home." Donnie looked back at his computer and frowned.

"Well that's weird."

"What?" Raph answered in unison with Mona.

"The party address. The apartment doesn't belong to family with kids. It's owned by some billionaire from Japan. Ichiro Gokomodo. No wife, kids or any family at all."

"What's a guy like that want to hire Cowabunga Carl for?"

"Well, since he's currently in Japan, I don't think he did. Although his personal jet does have a flight plan to take off from a privately owned fixed base operator just north of the city. It's returning to Gokomodo's company air strip in Japan. The flight plan was submitted less than a half hour ago."

Raph absorbed the information with a sinking feeling in his gut. He didn't question the info or how Donnie got it. Donnie's tech powers were magic and everyone knew to roll with it. Before he could start grilling his brother for details, his phone went off with Casey's ringtone.

"How'd you get there so fast?"

"Zach sprung for a cab and we double-timed it like that speed demon mutant."

"Well? Where's Mikey?" Casey hesitated and the sick feeling returned with a vengeance. Casey almost never hesitated.

"He's gone Raph."

"Gone?" The voice didn't sound like his even though it had come from his mouth.

"Looks like a trap. There was a fight. Only his broken phone and that weird turtle mask are left."

Raph didn't even say goodbye before he hung up, lowering the phone and staring at it in disbelief. His little brother was gone? No. It couldn't be. He wouldn't allow it. Somehow they had to fix this. At this moment, more than ever, he wished Leo was here. Leo would know what to do. He always knew what to do.

Raph got up and staggered out of the room, barely aware of Mona and Donnie's dismayed expressions, as they'd correctly inferred what had happened from Raph's end of the call. He could handle this. And he would. He just needed a moment to get it together.

Behind him, he could hear Donnie and Mona discuss what to do about informing Sensei and Raph cringed at the thought of telling his father that they'd lost his youngest child. It was an unspoken rule that everyone was supposed to protect Mikey. And somehow they'd dropped the ball on that. Royally.

The dojo divider slammed open and Master Splinter dashed out so distraught that, for an instant, Raph wondered if he already knew. Mona elbowed Donnie and he blurted out their news in almost exact unison with their father's announcement.

"Mikey's been abducted."

"Leonardo has been captured."

The words sunk into Raph's mind like a blow to the head. He punched the back of the couch hard enough to splinter the metal frame as he yelled at the top of his lungs.

"Noooo!"

* * *

Pimiko watched as Naoko cracked open the crate they'd used to transport the turtle and began monitoring his vitals, ready to give another dose of sedation if necessary. Yes, his. After today, she couldn't think of him as an it anymore. She just couldn't. He was so cheerful and childlike. She hadn't expected that. And they way he'd looked at her just before Haruna put him down. She wouldn't soon forget it.

She understood that his sacrifice was for the greater good of everyone. But he was a person. An adorable, friendly person. And the thought of him spending the rest of his life as a lab specimen didn't sit well with her.

It had been easy, almost too easy, to take advantage of his trusting nature and use it against him. And with Gokomodo-san's connections with the private airport, there was no investigation of their cargo at all. As the plane climbed higher, she understood that her first mission had been an impressive success. So why did she feel so awful?


	40. Chapter 39: Curiosity II

**Curiosity II:**

"Dr. Chaplin." Oscar glanced up at his office door in time to see one of the EDF's intermittent agents, the Lotus Blossom if he recalled correctly, barge right in and toss a requisition order on his desk.

"Your snake and turtle mutants, delivered as promised. I need you to sign off on it." He skimmed it to confirm her assertion before attaching his name in illegible scrawl to the line at the bottom. She smiled.

"Nice doing business with you." And then she turned on her heel and left before he had a chance to say anything. Not that he particularly had anything to say. Skilled or not, she was just another EDF weapon in the arsenal. Common and boring.

Intrusion gone, he went over the document in greater detail. Hmmm. The mutants were labeled as highly unlikely for recruitment and had been kicked to him for study. If they changed their mind and agreed to work for the EDF they were to be given the opportunity to do so, otherwise he was ordered to terminate them once he'd learned all he could.

He still felt a pang when he got those orders, but Director Bishop's words reverberated in his head. "Never forget that they are the creations of our alien enemies, insidious and dangerous." And he had to admit that some he had worked on were downright scary. One in particular, like a deep sea creature gone horribly, horribly wrong, still haunted his nightmares.

The turtle should be fully aware and conscious but the serpent would be recovering from cryo. Hmmm. Unstable mutation. What could that mean? He found himself intrigued. He quickly put in the order with his techs to prep the turtle for preliminary examination before getting up to personally check on the snake. They hadn't had one like this before and he couldn't help feeling that flair of curiosity.

Stockman was buzzing around the edge of the lab nervously and Oscar had a fleeting concern as to what he'd be doing here. Stockman did have some experience in biochem, but his strengths were in robotics, so this wasn't the lab that he was supposed to be working in.

But then again, he had been stuck on that assignment with Harold, rebuilding some ancient computer for Kurtzman. As repulsive as Oscar found Stockman, Dr. Lillja's personality was in class of its own. He couldn't fault anyone for needing a break from the misanthropic old goat. Tabling that issue for the moment, he continued on to the reinforced glass, observation cell that the snake mutant had been placed in. And was not disappointed.

It was extraordinary. Sleek and streamlined with iridescent, white scales. A true marvel of nature, if the expression could be applied to alien-created mutants. With a groan, it began to move and he watched in fascination as it morphed into the shape of a young woman. At the very end of the transformation, she looked up at him, her green, serpentine eyes turning a golden, honey color. Gasping in awe, he felt his clipboard slip from his fingers and clatter to the floor. She was beautiful.


	41. Chapter 40: Just III

**Just III:**

Leo stretched as best he could, fighting an uphill battle to work the painful kinks out of his neck and limbs. He was not meant to be in his shell that long. Oww. Several basic stretches later, he moved into some simple katas before he finally felt like he had full range of motion again.

Then he took stock of his surroundings. He was in some kind of metal cell with one glass wall. Through it he could see what was undeniably a laboratory and felt a shiver of dread. This had been his father's greatest fear for them, the thing he'd always warned them about when growing up. Why they always needed to remain secret. Why they had to stay hidden.

Those childhood nightmares threatened him from the edges of his mind, but among his brothers, he'd worked the hardest to build his self-control and he refused to let fear unmake him. Not now when he needed a clear head to find a way out of this.

As he willed himself to be calm and centered, he noticed the woman watching him, her white lab coat contrasting with her copper-toned skin and long black hair, tied back in a loose braid. He met her eyes boldly, unwilling to be cowed despite his unfavorable position. She actually seemed a bit surprised, but not unnerved, and approached his cell.

"Who are you and where am I?" More surprise.

"You're very well spoken." Did she think that he was any less of a person because he wasn't human?

"I asked a question and would like an answer." She shrugged.

"I'm Raven and you're with the EDF." What? Why?

"What does the EDF want with me? And Karai, the snake mutant I was with, is she here too?" Raven frowned.

"Research or recruitment. And yes, you were captured with a serpent mutant." His heart sank. This was not good. Under normal circumstances he would never work for such an organization. Not of his own free will. But they had Karai. His Karai. What would he be willing to do to protect her from them? Anything. Though he wasn't sure what would be left of him afterwards, he would sacrifice his pride and honor in a heartbeat to spare her suffering.

"Do you have a name?" He broke out of his thoughts as she addressed him. She was looking at him with curiosity. Not Donnie curiosity. More like Mikey curiosity. There was awe with a touch of compassion. Perhaps he had an opportunity to gain an ally here.

"Yes. My name is Leonardo." She smiled.

"It suits you." Uh, ok. He wasn't really how to respond to that. Probably safest to be polite.

"Thanks." He looked at her lab coat and couldn't help but wonder if she would be dissecting him in the near future. The little that he knew of such procedures from half listening to Donnie's science gibberish was not encouraging.

"Are you here to study me?" Despite his resolve not to antagonize her, he couldn't keep the indignant challenge out of his voice. She actually looked a bit abashed.

"Not directly, but…you're not what I expected."

"What were you expecting?"

"The other mutants I've worked with were mindless. Animalistic. Violent. You're…"

"A person?"

"Yes."

"Not exactly the science you planned on doing?" She flushed and he wondered if he'd insulted her.

"I…uh, I didn't originally expect to be doing science at all." Now he was a bit curious. That wasn't what he'd been anticipating at all.

"Then why are you?" She shrugged.

"Because I can. And it's useful to the organization."

"What would you rather be doing?"

"I've kind of wanted to study the history, culture and language of my people. I have always wished that I had a closer connection and sometimes worry that it's slipping away. But that's personal, useless and unimportant."

"You're wrong." Her brows rose is shock.

"It is important. Culture, language and history make us who we are. It shows is where we've been and where we are going. There is nothing trivial about wanting to preserve it. And what the EDF needs isn't the beginning and end of everything."

Oh shell, he was lecturing. Raph was right. Maybe he did have a problem. But she didn't seem mad. She actually looked thoughtful. Well that was a nice change of pace. Usually, most of his relatives got in his face if he even started lecturing them, no matter how badly they might need to hear it.

"Thanks Leonardo. I'd better go, but it was nice meeting you."

Considering that the he was an unwilling prisoner here, he couldn't honestly say the same, so he only nodded. Somewhat distracted, she turned and left. Before he had a chance to reflect on the encounter, Boxer Stuckmin buzzed into view so suddenly that he almost jumped back into his shell. Only his protesting body, not fully recovered from his last lengthy stay in there, kept him out.

"Zzzzzturtlezzz."

"Stuckmin."

"Zzzztockminzzz."

"Whichever. What do you want?" He really hoped the mutant fly was not in charge of the 'research' that the EDF intended to conduct on him. They had a history. A history that would not work out in Leo's favor.

"Mutantzzz are watzzzched clozzzley here. I'm not zzzure whatzzz I can do to frzzzeee youzzzz." Hold it. Buzzkill was offering to help him? Exactly how bad was it here?

"But if youzzz promizzzze me zzzzzome retromutagen, I will tryzzzz." Oh, now it made sense.

"How can I trust you?"

"If youzzz donzzz't get out, how will I bezzzz human again?"

Fair enough. They still had a batch of retromutagen, although Donnie had made that in case Mona ever changed her mind. Not that he even wanted to consider what such a move would do to Raph, it was still her choice to make. But they were able to spare some for Timothy. It didn't take much. Surely there was enough for Stockman without taking away Mona's options. And if not, he would personally go out and search until they had enough mutagen for Donnie to make more.

"Very well. If you help me AND Karai, I swear I will get you a dose of retromutagen."

"Dealzzz."

Then the mutant fly was gone as quickly as he had come. Alone for the moment, he let a mix of hope and fear wash through him as he struggled to piece together everything that had happened. If only he could consult his father. Sensei would know what to do.

Sensei. He had found his father once before, in his time of greatest need, when he'd been broken and defeated after the invasion. His need was great now. Maybe he could reach his father again.

Taking a deep, cleansing breath, he sat in lotus position and emptied himself of all outside thoughts, worries and distractions, falling into a deep state of meditation. He could feel the physical world falling away as his consciousness manifested on the spirit plane. He focused his entire mind on an image of his father, his mentor, his foundation.

"Leonardo?" Sensei's voice, distant and ethereal called out to him. With all the will he could muster, he sent the message.

"I'm so sorry father. The EDF has captured me and…"

That was as far as he got. He wasn't able to get Miwa's name out before the intense burning pain hit, like arcs of fire all across his body, shattering his concentration. All he could hear was someone screaming. Then he realized it was him.

* * *

Her entire body burned horribly from the fading, but still bitter cold, making it the single most painful transformation of her mutant existence. When Karai found that woman who had attacked her, she was going to make her pay. Slowly. And no amount of lectures about mercy and compassion from either her father or Leo were going to deter her.

Damn. What had that woman done, stuffed her in a freezer? If so, how was she alive now? Not that she'd ever been a big fan of the cold before, but since her mutation she found that her tolerance of it had dropped to nonexistent. Stupid cold-bloodedness.

As her transformation back to human, which offered her at least partial warm-blooded benefits, completed, she looked up to see a scientist, with distractingly bright red hair, staring down at her. Great. Another laboratory prison. She'd promised herself that she was done with those. Someone was going to have to pay for that broken promise.

His blue eyes widened as she stared him down and his clipboard clattered to the floor. For a second, she wondered if he was afraid of her, until she caught the blush on his cheeks. Well that would certainly make things easier. A lifetime of training under the Shredder compelled her to take this man's infatuation and use it to her advantage. Still she couldn't help but cringe as she wondered what Leo might think of the tactic. Would he understand? Would he forgive her? Leo. Leo! Oh no! Was he here too?

"Turtle mutant?"

It was all she could get out, through her still fading physical pain. His eyes flicked to the far side of the room, telling her all she needed to know. Hell, they'd caught Leo too. Screw ethics. She would use every weapon at her disposal to get him out of this place and hope that he would understand and forgive as he had always done with her countless indiscretions before this. She shuddered at her memories of her last lab captivity. Nothing good ever came of it. She'd pay any price to spare Leo that.

Composing herself, she forced her body into a standing position which exuded a casual sensuality that she only reserved for Leo nowadays. It appeared Dr. Firehair had forgotten how to breathe briefly as he suddenly sucked in a great gulp of air. Always a good start.

"Who are you?"

"Wha…um Oscar, I mean…Dr. Chaplin."

"I'm Karai."

She added a slight hmm to her words as she cocked her head at just the right angle and he gaped openly at her before finally catching himself and trying to act professional again. She'd decided almost immediately that she didn't want to taint the name of Miwa with her current behavior. But Karai would serve just fine for what she needed to do. She approached the glass slowly, putting her hands up to it and thrusting her lower lip out slightly, willing it to tremble.

"What's going to happen to us?" He didn't even seem aware that he was putting his own hands up to the glass to match hers.

"Nothing. You'll be fine I promise. I can cancel all the testing and as long as you agree to work for the EDF, you won't be harmed."

The EDF? They were the ones that ordered the ambush? Why? She worked to sort through the information while maintaining her façade of vulnerable innocence. Some kind of forced recruitment. Well they had her and Leo over a barrel at the moment so they couldn't hope for a deal as cushy as the Mutanimals' even if Leo would ever agree to work for such people. But she needed this scientist to think they would, if only to buy some time. And to stop the experiments while they planned their next move.

"You'd do that? For me and my friend?" Time to add a little awe to her gaze to cap off the effect.

"Of course. Anything." He froze for a moment as he processed more of her words.

"Friend? Oh shoot the exam!" Exam? Leo! She watched in horror as Dr. Chaplin spun away from her glass and started to run.

"Wait! Cancel the…"

He didn't have a chance to finish. There was an electric-sounding zap that she could hear from over here, followed by Leo's scream.


	42. Chapter 41: Maturity III

**Maturity III:**

Raven walked out of the lab feeling conflicted. She could not have foreseen this outcome before going in. She'd only intended to look at the progress of her experiments and check in with Chaplin, who was too busy working in his office to even notice her. Then she'd seen him. The turtle. Just like the one in China. He was beautiful and she found that she couldn't stop staring. Until he'd caught her.

Leonardo wasn't just some exotic creature. He was a person, intelligent and wise, and deserved better than a cell in the lab. It was wrong. For the first time, since she'd gotten back, she was glad that her mission had been a failure.

As she reflected back on his serious blue eyes and the sense of honor and dignity that he carried in his bearing despite his situation, she couldn't help smiling. He was unlike anyone she had ever met before and not just because of his mutation. There was just something about him. She felt like she could talk to him and truly be understood. He'd even listened and offered her advice on her educational dilemma. With another small smile, she recalled his certainty as he refuted her doubts. Maybe she would work some culture classes into her curriculum.


	43. Chapter 42: Atonement I

**Atonement I:**

He sensed it before he arrived. Someone had broken into his office. Pushing down the involuntary rush of indignation and anger, he readied himself for a fight and slammed the door open. And stopped short. Aditi, the Lotus Blossom, was leaning back in his seat, with her feet on his desk, obviously waiting for him. That explained it. Good as EDF security was, he wouldn't expect it to be a match for her.

Refusing to show the sudden surge of lust, just as he had during their last unexpected encounter, he strode into the room as though nothing were wrong. You'd think that a few decades would be enough to dull the memory, but he still recalled that one night in blazingly intense detail. The bloom of her youth had grown into maturity and experience that somehow rendered her even more attractive. But he refused to give any indication.

Every relationship in his life, romantic or otherwise, had been absolute train wreck and he was done ruining things. Perhaps maintaining a professional distance would be just the thing to keep this one from going down in flames like his connection to everyone else he'd ever loved. She smiled.

"Saki." He crossed his arms and waited for an explanation. From what he recalled, she never did anything without purpose.

"For old times' sake." She held up a file and tossed it on his desk.

"I think I can trust you to be discrete and this had better not come back to bite me in the ass." She silently mouthed the words, but he could read what she was saying just fine. He didn't answer and she didn't expect him to, rising her feet and exiting in his office with catlike grace.

He finally took a breath and approached his desk to flip open the file. It was the report of her last mission. Why would she think he needed to see it? Especially since it meant breaking protocol and risking her professional reputation. He skimmed through and his heart almost stopped.

The EDF had Karai. In their lab. For in instant he could see her smiling gap toothed face grinning up at him after proudly showing off a newly mastered kata at age six with such intense clarity it blocked everything else out. No. Not his little girl. They would not have her!

Suddenly furious, he stood and yanked the bottle of scotch off the shelf where it had been collecting dust since Bishop had smugly gifted it to him when he'd agreed to join. Opening the bottle, he dumped the contents down the sink of his office bathroom. Then he proceeded to tear the document to shreds and stuff the pieces in the empty bottle, which he followed it up with a lit match, enjoying the moment of gratification he felt when the inferno shot out of the neck of the bottle, completely incinerating the paper.

But that still left the complication of how to free Karai. Bishop was no fool and kept him on a short leash. While he managed and oversaw operations with great efficiency, no one actually loyal to him was allowed any contact and his staff was constantly being switched off to prevent them from falling to far under his influence.

Only his assistant had been allowed to remain for Saki's entire tenure, likely because the man was grossly incompetent and imposing him on Saki probably amused Bishop. Even all of his resources came through the EDF and were carefully monitored. In fact, his office was most certainly bugged, hence Aditi's circumspection when she'd offered this knowledge to him. He was alone in this.

His only option was to bust into the lab on his own and get her out himself. But even with careful planning and his skill, that wouldn't be a guaranteed success. There had to be some sort of back up because Karai was too precious to be left here and he well remembered what his overconfidence had cost her in the past. Never again. She would be safe no matter what he had to do. But how?

His incompetent assistant! He tossed the burned out bottle into the garbage and paged the man to his office. While he waited, he opened the desk drawer and pulled out a standard issue protective phone sleeve and tucked it into his pocket. Next he removed an oblong, metal ball with a small blue button at the top.

He was still holding it up for examination when Tatsu rushed in, his shirt still covered in the remnants of what was probably a half-eaten dinner. It was late. Nearly midnight, but they all kept long, unusual hours at the EDF, so it wasn't entirely atypical. Although knowing Tatsu, this could be his second dinner. His assistant clumsily snapped to attention upon entering.

Saki casually rose to his feet, exuding a calm that belied the storm of emotion raging within him. He circled the nervous man like a predator, fluidly slipping Tatsu's phone from his belt pouch and ducking it into his own shielded pocket. Tatsu had no clue as his attention was fixed on the shiny, metal object in Saki's other hand.

"This is Lillja's latest version EMP grenade. He's requested that I oversee its field testing." Tatsu nodded enthusiastically as Saki brought up the request he'd been ignoring for over a month now. You've been doing well Tatsu, despite a few setbacks." The man cringed as Saki referenced his many and copious failures.

"I think that it's time I entrusted you with more responsibility." Tatsu nodded eagerly.

"I want you to arrange the field test."

He dropped the grenade into Tatsu's waiting hands as he spoke. His assistant gazed down at in in awe. The big chance that he'd been hoping for. Saki waited for the inevitable. As Tatsu ran his hand over the grenade, he couldn't quite resist the temptation and depressed the blue button. A wave of energy burst forth from the grenade, killing every electronic device in the room. Except the one shielded in Saki's pocket. Although secretly pleased, he gave Tatsu the glared he'd used to cow even Tiger Claw.

"Get out you fool!"

Tatsu dropped the grenade and fled the room. Alone for the moment, truly alone, Saki pulled out the intact phone. Tatsu lost his phone so habitually that they'd started giving him standard issue burner phones. Phones that weren't worth the time and effort of bugging. The most valuable phone Saki could possess. Praying that the number still worked, something he was rarely reduced to doing, he dialed and waited. He let out a sigh of relief as Amaya's voice answered on the other side.

"Who is this and how did you get this number?"

"Amaya don't hang up."

"Saki?"

"I don't have much time. The EDF has Karai at their headquarters. They've got her in the lab Amaya." He could hear her sharp intake of breath and knew that she understood.

"I will get her out."

"How?"

"I'm not sure yet. But I will. I just…needed someone else to know." That was the closest he'd ever come to admitting that he might not succeed, but Amaya heard it for what it was. And that was why he'd chosen to call her.

"Goodbye Amaya."

He did wait to find out if she'd respond. He'd already drawn this out longer than he should have. Wiping down the phone with a tissue to clean it of prints, he tucked it back into his pocket. Now it was time for Tatsu to have accidentally microwaved his phone in the breakroom.


	44. Chapter 43: Solace II

**Solace II:**

Amaya strode into the lair feeling almost like a new person. It was amazing what a few subtle changes could do. She started a bit when she saw three unfamiliar humans seated at the kitchen table with her family and friends. Catching Raph's eye, he shrugged, effectively putting her inquiry on hold. Her fierce nephew was intensively protective of his family, so if he wasn't ready to punch anyone, the situation was not urgent. She'd let it be for now.

Continuing on, she approached the dojo. Yoshi was inside, coaching someone on the art of self-control. Cracking the divider open a bit, she saw yet another new face and frowned. It had only been two days since she'd last come down here. What was going on?

Knowing how rude it was to interrupt a lesson, she decided to wait on getting her answers. Instead, she slipped into the room quietly enough to avoid drawing even Yoshi's attention. Seating herself against the tree, out of their line of view, she closed her eyes and waited.

Her head felt so much lighter with her hair cut short. She couldn't quite get used to the sensation. Impractical or not, for years she'd kept her hair long and her makeup style the same. Because by doing so, every time she looked in a mirror she saw Shen again. It had been a way to keep her sister with her.

But it had been a toxic addiction. The joy she'd felt at seeing her twin in herself had always balanced against her guilt and pain as each time she experienced the loss anew. She carried her grief around with her, never truly dealing with it.

But that had been fine. The pain had always been an acceptable price to feel like Shen was not truly gone. Until she'd started noticing the same tells in Yoshi whenever he looked at her. She wouldn't drag him down that painful road along with her. So she'd let go.

Her once flowing long hair was now choppy short and she'd spent the previous day experimenting with cosmetics to discover a style that she felt to be uniquely hers. She'd said goodbye to Shen and let another piece of her twin pass on, already feeling the hole it left finally beginning to heal.

She could keep her sister in her heart without haunting herself with Shen's pseudo ghost. Particularly as she knew for a fact that Shen's true spirit had already moved on. A mix of relief and longing warred within her as she struggled to adjust to this new version of herself. But she had never balked from a challenge before and wasn't about to start now.

"Do not be discouraged. You have made excellent progress today."

"I suppose so. Thank you Master Splinter."

She tuned back in as it sounded like the lesson was over. How long had she been lost in her own thoughts? The young man walked right by her without noticing as he exited the dojo. She could almost feel Yoshi's tension as he sensed another presence in the room and smiled. She'd better reveal herself before they ended up in an impromptu sparring match. Though that might be fun too.

"It's only me. I didn't want to interrupt."

"Amaya?"

She stood and stepped out from behind the tree. At the sight of her, his ears snapped back, his eyes widened and she could hear a sudden, quiet intake of breath. It might be barely noticeable to most, but she knew him well enough to see how blindsided he'd been and couldn't help being a little gratified at his reaction. She didn't consider herself vain, but it was always nice to be appreciated.

"I thought I'd try something new."

He swallowed and nodded, still not entirely trusting himself to speak. Unable to fight the smile that brought, she breezed past him and into his room, taking her usual seat. Scooping some dry tea leaves into the infuser, she dropped it in her cup and turned on the hot plate that he kept under his kettle.

"Tea?"

He shook himself out of his daze and nodded, moving to seat himself beside her as she readied his cup. Everything in its place, all familiar to her, this place was more home to her than her apartment. If the lair had a proper bath, she'd probably just move in.

Hmm, perhaps she should talk to Donatello about installing one. She wasn't certain that her nephews would enjoy it as they seemed to prefer the cooler water that surrounded the dojo like a moat and might feel as though they were cooking in a bath. But she had no doubts that Yoshi would appreciate it. Yes, she'd have to bring that up with him at the next opportunity.

"So have you spontaneously decided to open your own school in the last few days?" He raised a questioning brow at her and she inclined her head towards the door his new student had exited from.

"Carter?" His amber eyes filled with comprehension.

"No, he is a friend of April's who has recently undergone a mutation." That surprised her. The boy seemed normal enough.

"I'm helping him to control it so that he might be able to return to his life."

"Ok. And the new children in the kitchen?" His ears flattened.

"The what?" He didn't know? Interesting.

"Well Raphael wasn't throwing them out, so I'm sure an explanation will be forthcoming." He sighed, willing his patience into existence, an art she suspected him of perfecting while raising his boys.

"I believe we will require a family meeting to review the rules regarding outsiders." Oh that would be fun. She'd have to make sure she had a conflicting obligation whenever he scheduled that event.

The kettle began to whistle and he poured the hot water into the waiting cups. Then handed hers to her. She brushed his hand with her fingers as she took the cup feeling that magnetic pull between them she'd been noting more and more frequently. Was it just in her head? Or was there really something there? He retracted his hand almost too quickly, as though nervous, an unfamiliar state for him, and she wondered. Perhaps.

Then her phone rang, breaking the moment. With a sigh, she set her tea down and checked it. An unfamiliar number. That set off some warning alarms in her head. Her number was unlisted and her clever young nephew kept it off the telemarketing radar for her. There should be no unknown numbers.

"I should take this."

Yoshi nodded serenely as she rose and left the room.

* * *

Splinter watched her go, feeling strangely unsettled. He hadn't felt this way in years. Not since…not since he was barely out of his teens and actively courting Shen. He mentally reprimanded himself. What was he thinking? She was his sister-in-law.

And yet, when she showed up to today, looking so different and yet completely herself, he felt as if a safety net that he hadn't even been aware of was torn away. Now he was seeing her, really seeing her and not a shadow of Shen, for the first time. And she was breathtaking.

He needed to remind himself that she was not meant for him. Reading too much into every little gesture would only drive him insane. He must be relearn to be content with his lot. There was more than enough to be thankful for in his life without reaching for the unattainable. And yet, he still wanted…

Closing his eyes, he took a deep breath to center himself. Perhaps some time spent meditating would clear his head and help him sort through these changes. Feeling that comforting sense of peace settle on him, he let go of the physical world, experiencing each binding tie as it snapped away, one by one, until he was free. At peace. And then he felt his son. Desperate. Confused. Frightened? Seeking him.

"Leonardo?"

"I'm so sorry father. The EDF has captured me and…" Their connection shattered as, for a brief instant, he experienced his son's searing pain before crashing back to reality.

"No. Not my son."

Shaken, he staggered to his feet with less than his usual grace. By sheer will, he forced the panic back, knowing that it was still barely restrained. They must save him. As a family. Fast as lightning, he dashed through the dojo and shoved open the divider with enough force to send it flying.

The living area contained only Donatello, Raphael and Mona Lisa. Part of his mind, noted that they seemed exceedingly distraught, but that would have to wait. They had larger concerns at the moment. His words came out at the same time as Donatello's.

"Leonardo has been captured."

"Mikey's been abducted." What? No. Not his youngest and most innocent. He was barely aware of Raphael's scream of rage. His boys were gone. Splinter's voice broke as he spoke.

"My sons. Please no."

* * *

Amaya rushed out to the hallway behind the dojo before answering.

"Who is this and how did you get this number?"

"Amaya don't hang up."

"Saki?"

"I don't have much time. The EDF has Karai at their headquarters. They've got her in the lab Amaya." She gasped as she realized the enormity of that. Her niece had been held and hurt in a lab before, by him no less. Such a place would be her personal hell.

"I will get her out."

"How?"

"I'm not sure yet. But I will. I just…needed someone else to know." That was Saki's way of admitting the task to be near impossible. He didn't think he could do it and was asking for help.

"Goodbye Amaya."

The call went dead and she leaned against the wall trembling. Miwa. She feared this every time her niece left, but had always had enough faith her skills to allay those doubts. But the EDF? Why would they be after Miwa? How could they even have known of her existence?

Unless…Miwa's global vigilante work must have put her on their radar. When she got her niece home, and she absolutely would, they were going to have a long discussion on discretion. She worked on breathing evenly until she felt like she wouldn't shatter to pieces when she tried speaking of it. Control. Control was everything or she would render herself powerless.

Reining in the panic, she straightened her spine and turned the corner to reenter the dojo through the living area. Hearing Raphael scream caused her to quicken her pace. She went from walking to almost top speed in less than two steps. And stopped at the sight of the tableau in front of her.

Donatello was standing there, staring at Yoshi in disbelief, looking as though he'd been pole-axed. Raphael stood next to the now broken corner of the couch, blood dripping from his hand. He trembled, appearing as though would break apart into uncountable pieces at any moment. Only Mona Lisa's comforting embrace seemed to be holding him together. And Yoshi. Yoshi looked stunned, near broken and...old, as though he'd aged a decade in the few minutes since she'd last saw him.

"My sons. Please no."

Of course. If the EDF had Miwa, they must have Leonardo too. Wait, did he say sons? She scanned the room again and was suddenly hit by absence of Michelangelo. Her eternally bright and upbeat young nephew was not present. An old rage she hadn't felt in years abruptly seized her. Whoever was doing this to her family was going to pay dearly. But first she had some bad news to break.

Taking a deep breath, she went over to Yoshi and took his hand, actually startling him, something she never expected to be able to do. His sense of awareness had always impressed her. He looked at her, amber eyes full of grief.

"Amaya. Leonardo and Michelangelo…" Her lip trembled, but she was not going to lose it right now. They needed to keep it together.

"The EDF has Miwa." She wished she could turn away as he absorbed the knowledge that he had lost his daughter yet again. It was going to be too much. He couldn't do this alone. And honestly, neither could she. She reached out and pulled him into an embrace, allowing his shaking frame to collapse against her.

"We'll get them back Yoshi. I promise."


	45. Chapter 44: Balanced III

**Balanced III:**

Donnie struggled to swallow past the lump in his throat, but it wasn't working. He couldn't think. Every attempt at thought came apart at the seams unable to stand against the maelstrom in his head. Mikey. Leo. Miwa. Their names and their loss kept repeating in his head like a damaged music track that wouldn't stop skipping over the same spot.

He wished he could go back to this morning when the only thing he needed to worry about was tracing a phone number and running maintenance on their security system. Now a full quarter of their family was just gone and, until he could get his brain to cooperate again, hopelessly out of reach.

He'd never missed Venus more than he did in this moment. She always knew how to calm his tangled thought process and focus it into a productive direction. He needed her. Desperately. A fresh stab of worry hit as he calculated the new total of time that had passed since he'd last spoken to her. Could her sudden loss of contact be connected? No. If he were to have any hope of being useful, he couldn't think about that right now. He was already at his limit as it was.

"Raph."

"I can't Mona." The fog lifted and he snapped his attention over the Raph and Mona.

"Yes, you can. Just like at the farmhouse. Renet told me how you stepped up then. You can do it again now."

"But…"

"They're not gone. Not yet. We can save them and we will." She managed a smile.

"They're alive. And they're waiting. Leo's counting on you now, just as he was then. Because you can do this." Donnie watched as his big brother took a deep breath and steadied. He could see the steely resolve in Raph's eyes and calmed some, knowing that, somehow, they'd get this done.

"Yes I can." Raph turned to Donnie.

"Lab. Now. We need all the intel we can get on the EDF headquarters and this Gokomodo guy." Finally given a direction, a mission, Donnie's thoughts snapped into focus, outlining exactly what needed to be done to accomplish the assigned task. Giving Raph a grateful nod, he went to work.

* * *

Venus approached the lair with a rush of relief. She was finally home. And she now knew, unequivocally, that she hated air travel. She'd never been so terrified in her life. And considering some of the things she'd lived through, that was no small statement. Pit her against a hoard of alien invaders or an ancient demigod. No problem. Seal her in metal canister and shoot her into the sky. Big problem.

But at least it was over now. And she'd been able to change back into her New York attire before slipping out of the aircraft. The Hamatos were right. It was simply more practical and comfortable than trying force themselves into human clothing. She pushed through the turnstiles and braced herself. Being bowled over by an overly exuberant Mikey yelling "welcome back V" was sort of a homecoming tradition.

She always wondered about the nicknames. Only she and Donatello got reduced down to a single letter. Mikey never called Raphael R or Leonardo L. But Donatello was, among other nicknames, D, and she had become V to Michelangelo. Although Donatello had forbidden him from putting their nicknames together with his second, after completely losing it on Mikey the first time he'd referred to them as VD. After three years, she considered her English to be pretty fluent, but somethings, like that, still eluded her and it didn't help that Donatello refused to explain.

But Michelangelo's welcome never came. He wasn't home. She couldn't help being a little disappointed. This was the first time he hadn't met her upon her arrival. But it wasn't as though she'd been able to give them a heads up that she'd been returning, so she shouldn't be too surprised. It just meant that her little brother had always made a point of being there when he knew she'd be back. It was so very him.

With a sigh, she headed towards the lab to find Donatello. That was almost always where he was to be found. There was so much that she had to tell him, but it had been a long and unpleasant trip and right now she just wanted to hold him and be held in return.

But all thoughts of comfort fled her mind as she stepped into the lab and felt the thick miasma of tension in the air. Something was very wrong. Donatello was hunched over his computer, not particularly unusual. But just behind him, looking over his shoulder, stood Master Splinter, Amaya, Raphael and Mona Lisa. Whatever the problem was, they weren't helping. Being scrutinized while he worked only stressed Donatello out more. Her turtle leaned back in his computer chair, producing a series of alarming cracks and pops from his neck and joints.

"Well?"

Raphael's voice sounded unusually overbearing, but Donatello didn't flinch back from it as he sometimes did under the full force of his older brother's personality. He turned his head to answer and spied her in the doorway. The chair tipped passed its balance point and he clattered backwards to the ground, but didn't miss a beat as he landed the fall already running towards her. At least she was getting her exuberant welcome from someone. To her surprise, he scooped her up in a hug and spun her before pulling her in close.

"Thank goodness. I was so worried." She reached out and pulled him down to her, pressing her mouth tenderly against his for a moment before nuzzling their beaks together.

"Donatello, what's wrong?" He rubbed his cheek against hers and inhaled deeply as though drinking in her scent.

"Mikey, Leo and Miwa have been taken." Her body stiffened involuntarily. No.

"The EDF?" He started and pulled back to look her in the eyes.

"How?"

"They sent an agent after me too. It was close. Too close." His warm brown eyes widened in fear and he pulled her close again as though to reassure himself that she was safe here with him.

"How could they possibly have found you? The monastery is…"

"Quiyue reported me to them. I know that she never liked me but I didn't think that she would betray our family like that."

"Venus…"

"It's ok. I'm ok. And I'm here to help now. Let's find our siblings."

"About time." She looked away from Donatello to see a very impatient Raphael tapping his foot as he waited.

"Oh and welcome home Venus. Glad you're ok."

She nodded in acknowledgement. Donatello relinquished the hug, but wouldn't let go of her hand as though she were his anchor. She didn't mind. Right now, he was keeping her grounded too. Then the party wagon pulled up alongside the garage door to park behind the Shellraiser. Casey leaned out his window to talk over the top of the cab.

"Picked up some backup on the way home." The passenger door opened and April stepped out, solemnly holding Michelangelo's weapons. She felt Donatello's hand tighten on hers as the loss suddenly became vividly real. The side door slid open and out stepped Shadow with three humans she'd never seen before. Casey came around the front with an armload of little baggies full of bits of food that he dumped on the table.

"Found this at the apartment. Thought D might want to test it. They had a spread on a table and I couldn't tell if Mikey'd eaten any or not. You know, besides the taffy apple pizza that he would have brought." The blindingly blonde human boy human boy tried to smile encouragingly.

"Your brother's a really good cook." Raphael huffed back an almost laugh.

"Sometimes." She sensed someone approach from behind and Donnie pulled her back into him before she could attack. Another new human wandered into the lab. What was going on? She'd only been gone for little over a month.

"Is everything ok?" Raphael frowned and crossed his arms.

"No, it's not. Donnie, give me the break down." Donatello took a breath.

"The EDF has Leo and Miwa. It's essentially the ultimate military facility. Maybe I can break through their security, and that's a big maybe, but the numbers, training and weaponry once inside will be overwhelming. This will probably the single most dangerous infiltration we've ever done. And that's not taking into account our other serious problem. Transportation. The EDF headquarters is in Europe." Raph frowned.

"Thanks for the optimism Donnie. Good to have someone looking on the bright side."

"And for the bad news, Mikey's been taken by a completely different organization. For reasons still unclear, it seems that Komodo Industries has kidnapped Mikey and are currently flying him back to Japan. I mean it's not certain. There are variables. But the circumstantial evidence is strong enough that…"

"Focus Donnie."

"So anyway, Mikey's on his way to Japan. According the flight plan, he seems to be headed towards their primary R&D facility, which, to prevent corporate espionage, is essentially the equivalent of a military base. So we've got family locked down in military grade prisons on two different continents. And we're down three members without the people we're trying to save. What do we do Raph?" Raphael clenched his jaw and Mona Lisa placed a hand on his shell, giving him an encouraging nod.

"We're going to need all of us and then some to take on the EDF." Donnie frowned.

"But what about Mikey?"

"There someone I trust completely to save Mikey while we're on mission and he's already in the area."


	46. Chapter 45: Teamwork III

**Teamwork III:**

"Come on Slash, please. It's totally soundproof so Umeko and Dr. Rockwell's quiet won't be disturbed."

"We use that room for training Candy."

"Which is why we'll keep all the equipment on floor dollies in storage and only wheel them over when he needs to practice or record." Slash crossed his arms and glared down at her.

"You've thought of everything haven't you?"

"Of course. So…"

"Yes, you can use the room."

"Yes!"

She arm-pumped as he rolled his eyes and shook his head. In less than a day, she'd convinced Dr. Rockwell to return the amp, he had said she could ask for anything after all, and had used her old contacts to start auditioning potential bandmates.

The guy who did the Metallica submission was looking to be a perfect drummer and the one who'd sent her an Iron Maiden cover was looking like the best choice for vocalist and bassist. And despite what Mondo thought, she was sure his voice would make for excellent vocals too. This was metal not pop after all. Everything was coming together perfectly. And maybe it wasn't exactly the uses that the EDF had expected her to put her skills towards, but no one ever said that she couldn't have a hobby. Besides, she really, really wanted to see Mondo perform.

Then Slash's computer beeped with an incoming video call and he rushed to answer it as soon as he saw the caller ID. The screen filled with a mix of mutants and humans in what vaguely reminded her of a subway station. What was going on?

"Raph?"

"Slash, I need all the Mutanimals in on this call. We have an emergency." Whoever this Raph guy was, he carried sway. Slash didn't hesitate. Depressing the button on his communicator, attached to his shoulder strap, he barked out.

"Mutanimals! My quarters pronto! We have a situation."

In the next few minutes, the room rapidly filled with the other Mutanimals and Candy was inadvertently shoved to the back. She climbed the weapon rack on the wall like a ladder to get a better view.

"We're all here Raph. What's the problem?" Raph crossed his arms and glared at the screen.

"Some guy in Japan, Ichiro Gokomodo, just kidnapped Mikey is flying him to Komodo Industries right now." Leatherhead growled with enough ferocity to make her tremble.

"No! My friend!"

"He's gonna be ok right?" The expression on Mondo's face as he looked around for reassurance broke her heart. Whoever this Mikey was, he must be someone special.

"Whoa…"

Some humans on the other side were leaning in with wonder and more than a little bit of fear as Leatherhead occupied most of the screen in his effort the maintain his self-control. He'd mentioned that it was a problem for him, but until now, she'd had no idea. He had always seemed like such a gentle giant. Leatherhead glanced over at the screen and froze, blinking in disbelief with both eyelids.

"The boy…my boy…" His snout pressed up against the screen and from what little Candy could see the humans on the other side backed up. Leatherhead pointed at one of them and the others turned to him. The girl looked questioningly at the boy who was the focal point of Leatherhead's attention.

"Walt? Do you know the giant alligator, uh, person?" 'Walt' shook his head in confusion.

"Walt? Is that your name? My memories from that far back are…difficult."

"Um, I think you might have mistaken me for someone else. I would remember meeting someone like you." Leatherhead shook his head.

"No, I was very small then. I was your pet." Walt's jaw dropped.

"Chompers? What happened to you?"

"Chompers? Yes, I think I do remember you calling me that. My name is Leatherhead now. A lot happened after your parents flushed me into the sewers."

"They what?! They said they took you back to the pet store!" Raph shouldered Walt aside.

"To get back on track, we need the Mutanimals to go rescue Mikey. Donnie can send you the details." Slash nodded.

"We're on it. I know you won't want him to wait until you can make it over."

"Not just that. We need to hit EDF headquarters to bust out Leo and Miwa. They're locked up there in a lab." Slash hissed in a breath as he spoke.

"Leo…Don't worry. We got this, brother. You take care of Leo and Miwa." Raph nodded with a smile.

"Know I can always count on you." Slash reciprocated the expression.

"No one messes with our family. We'll have our brothers home in no time."

"Good luck Slash."

"You too Raph."

The call ended and Slash turned to the team to give orders when he noticed Candy in the background. Everyone followed his gaze and the room filled with an awkward silence. She was the EDF flunky and their secret friends just confessed a plan to hit headquarters. She was supposed to call this in and use her powers of persuasion to convince them to stand down. Mondo looked at her pleadingly. Screw the EDF. She knew which side she belonged on.

"So are we doing this rescue mission or what?"


	47. Chapter 46: Fierce III

**Fierce III:**

"Is that all? How about I establish world peace while I'm at it?"

Alopex watched Angel, annoyed at the phone call that had interrupted their argument. But Angel always took Casey's calls, so she couldn't say that she was entirely surprised.

"No, we're in. Just get us the details." Oh lord what now. They had problems of their own.

"Let Shadow know that she's in charge while we're gone." Gone? Gone where? They couldn't leave now.

"And if she needs any help, she can turn to that new guy I was hassling, Keno." Yeah that sounded like a great idea.

"Yes he is and yeah he deserved all the shit I gave him. He still thinks we're the old Dragons and signed on like he some undercover cop finding out what we were really up to. But I know him from work and even if he does have a stick up his ass, he's dependable."

Alopex sighed and rubbed the bridge of her snout. She needed this call to end so that she could ream Angel out. Since when did they make what was clearly a huge decision without consulting each other?

"Of course he'll help her. Did you miss the part about the self-righteous stick up his ass? So let me know when and where to meet up." Angel clicked off the phone and pointedly ignored Alopex's glare.

"Since when does my opinion no longer count?"

"I think I know you well enough to guess your call on this one." Alopex's eyes narrowed.

"We can't take off now. What about the one who was stalking me? I still can't smell properly. There's danger there that we can't ignore and if you think that I'm just going to drop everything because your brother has a problem, you're dead wrong. What does he even want us to do?" Angel, leaned back casually against the desk, smirking, completely unfazed.

"Break into the EDF headquarters."

"What?! Is he insane? Even if that weren't a suicide mission, I think I'd rather stay off their radar. So go if you want, but count me out." Angel, still unperturbed was clearly holding back some crucial piece of information that would tip the balance, but Alopex couldn't imagine what could possibly induce her to do something so stupid.

"They caught Miwa and Leo. We have to get them out before the lab strips them down for spare parts." Alopex went stock still as that sunk in, barely able to manage a whisper.

"Karai?"

"Yeah, when you've got your gear together and are ready to roll, let me know." Alopex crossed her arms angrily at Angel's smug grin and left to prepare.

* * *

Mona watched as Casey ended the call and turned back to everyone.

"Ang and Al are a go. Oh and Shad, you're in charge in the meantime." Shadow started and looked around in mild panic.

"What? Me? But…"

"If anyone gives you any crap, you can apparently go to Keno for back up." April's eyes shot wide, but Casey answered her before she could even get the question out.

"Yes, he's Irma's Keno. Angel says he's not buying the Dragon's new mission and joined up for investigative purposes. So despite the hard time she's given him, he's solid." April frowned, not looking particularly pleased with this development.

"You know babe, sooner or later, you're gonna have to tell Irma." She just glared at him, but didn't disagree. Mona sighed. And their secret would be even more spread out. Great. At least she knew enough of Irma to be less unnerved than she was with their newest fans. Beside her, she could feel Raph's involuntary flinch as Zach excitedly approached.

"And you can count on us too!"

Raph froze and she watched the blood drained out of Cait and Walt's faces as they heard him speak. There was no way in hell that they were bringing a group of untrained minors on their most dangerous infiltration mission ever. She gave his hand a reassuring squeeze, breaking his stunned paralysis. Raph inhaled deeply, let go and stepped forward, clapping a hand on Zach's eager shoulder.

"Not this time. This city is still ours to protect and I know that Shadow's got the Dragons but Casey and I are going to need to someone to pick up the slack while we're gone. Can I count on you?" Zach's eyes were practically sparkling as Cait and Walt let out a relieved breath.

"Absolutely."

"Good." She could already see the wheels turning in Zach's head as he began calculating his preparations.

"Come on guys. We need to get ready." He practically dragged poor Walt and Cait out of the lair as they shared a glance that Mona suspected was an old standing agreement while Zach pulled him along in the tide of his enthusiasm. She smiled at Raph.

"Nicely done."

"Yeah, but that's probably gonna be a problem when we get back." When, not if. Good.

"Meh, I have every confidence that you will be able to handle it." He just smirked.

"Ahem." Donnie interrupted and they refocused their attention.

"We are still going to need all the help we can get."

"And exactly what other allies do we have to call on?"

Donnie held up the card they'd brought back from the previous night and she felt her blood pressure skyrocket at the sight of it. He could not possibly be serious. Raph caught her expression and shifted uncomfortably.

"Donnie, I'm not so sure…"

"You said she was skilled. And she wants something from us. That's leverage."

"And what if she's EDF like whoever took Leo and Miwa and whoever tried to take Venus." Donnie's free hand curled into an involuntary fist at the mention of Venus's attack, but he didn't back down.

"Then why didn't she take you or Mona when she had the chance? It sure sounded like she had the advantage." She could actually feel Raph wrestle for control of his temper and couldn't offer any help as her grasp on her own was tenuous at best.

"Maybe she was still after you and Mikey? Did you ever consider that genius?"

"Like that information couldn't have been 'extracted' after your capture." They entered a stare down, but Donnie was holding his ground. Raph finally accepted they were in a stalemate.

"Fine. But we're playing it close to the vest with her." Donnie nodded.

"Whatever it takes to get Leo and Miwa back." Raph nodded too.

"Whatever it takes." Venus placed a hand on Donnie's shell and he smiled over at her despite everything that was going on. But she looked troubled.

"But how do we get there? I didn't know to hold my transportation."

True. It usually took Amaya a few weeks to arrange appropriately discrete transit for Leo and Miwa's excursions and they did not have that kind of time. Except. No. But what other choice was there? Oh God, she did not want to do this. But she had to.

"I think I can handle that." Everyone turned to look at her.

"My family has a private jet. It was my uncle's." That was a close as she wanted to come to saying his name. Raph could see where this was heading and she could tell he wasn't liking it. Well she wasn't thrilled either.

"And you think they're just gonna to loan it to us?"

"Not if I tell them the truth. But if I say what they want to hear…" He grimaced, knowing full well what her parents wanted to hear.

"I don't think lying to them is going to improve things with your family."

"No, it won't, but that's not our biggest priority right now. Whatever it takes." She echoed his own words back at him and he managed a strained smile before nodding.

"Fine. But after, we'll make it right. Somehow."

"Somehow." She repeated before walking off to deceive her parents in private.

Before starting the call, she set her phone up to block the outgoing number. As she considered her need to do that, her eyes blurred with tears. How had it come to this? She didn't even want her parents to have the bare minimum of contact information for her.

Memories from her childhood assaulted her. Going skeet shooting with her father and seeing that look of pride on his face at her accuracy. Her mother singing to her in a rocking chair when she was little and didn't seem to fit in with the other kids. That expression of joy on their faces when started taking college level physics courses. When did everything go so wrong?

She still loved them. Dearly. And always would. And she truly believed that they loved her. So why were they doing this to her? Raph was one of the few people who actually understood her. And she'd learned early on, with Renet, that when you found something like that you hold on for all your worth.

What they had was strong, real and enduring. She was happy with him. And despite all the crap her parents kept giving him, he was still trying to be supportive of her relationship with them. Why couldn't they see how perfect he was for her and be pleased that she'd found him. People spend their entire lives looking for what she had with Raph, never finding it. Wasn't that easily worth the price of her humanity?

She wished that she could understand why they were unable to see that. If she had a handle on the problem, she was sure that she could fix it. Like Donnie, she was good at fixing things. If only they would let her. But now wasn't the time. Wiping away her unshed tears, she sent the call.

"Hello?"

"Hi mom."

"Lisa, thank goodness. I was a little concerned after the way our last call ended. Why is your number blocked?"

"Raph's brother is big on security." She could hear her mother's silent disapproval. Taking a deep breath, she readied herself. Even if it was a lie, that wouldn't make it any easier to say.

"I've been thinking about what you said."

"Have you dear?" The hope in her mother's voice turned her stomach. Not now. Later. She would find a way to fix it later.

"You do have a lot of good points…"

"Yes."

"But…"

"I know this is hard for you but, we only want what's best for you."

"I know that. I really do. But…I really need to take some time away to think about this."

"Of course, sweetie. That is completely reasonable."

"Do you think I could take the jet? Go somewhere, away from everyone. Clear my head."

"Absolutely. The jet is at the corporate airstrip. I'll let Benten know that he's to give you everything you need. He'll be expecting your call. You can get away from them, right? You don't need any help?" The concern in her mother's voice, that the people who loved her might be holding her captive, twisted her stomach in knots.

"No, they trust me enough that I can get away. Thanks mom."

She ended the call, cursing the bitter sobs that refused to be held at bay. Damn it all. No time for this. With deep, controlled breaths and the techniques her Sensei taught her, she fought it back. Compartmentalize it away for the time being. Deal with it later. Right now, she needed to call Benten and set up a flight plan that looked like European retreat. Everything else could wait because, right now, she had a mission.


	48. Chapter 47: Guardians III

**Guardians III:**

Adam raised an eyebrow at Joi as she leaned back her chair and rested her feet on the table, but didn't say anything. Not that they'd said anything much since arriving. For the sake of not having to repeat herself, Joi had opted to wait until everyone was here. Not that such a declaration would forbid idle chatter, but she didn't really do idle chatter and Adam had always been a man of few words.

Though he didn't need to speak to communicate his disapproval over her lack of respect for public property. Geez. It was a library. It's not like anyone was going to eat off the little table in the enclosed study room. And if they did, they weren't heeding the signs posted all over the place so they could suck it up. Not like a little dirt would kill them.

The door opened and to her immense relief both Tora and Faraji entered together. She hated waiting. Tora looked exhausted and jet lagged, but that was to be expected. He was dressed in his usual maroon trimmed gi with matching cloth vest and bright red support wraps around his wrists and forearms. Everyone in the library probably thought that he was wearing pajamas.

Faraji looked furious, the cause of which they would likely know in excruciating detail in the next few minutes. He looked equally out of place. The dark purple parachute pants could almost pass, if you were a huge fan of the early nineties, but the scale mail tank top with matching gauntlets and shin guards made him look like he should be on his way to cosplay it up at a video game convention.

Her gaze slid over to Adam in his homemade clothing, a simple white three quarter sleeve shirt with a brown leather t-shirt overtop and definitely not matching, cloth, brown pants tucked into the simple boots that he'd cobbled together stood out even more than their companions' ensembles. It wasn't his fault since his size kind of made store bought clothing impossible and their work was not done for the monetary compensation so it wasn't as though he could afford tailor made clothes, but still. He looked like he was LARPing as a peasant.

She was the only one of the four of them who seemed to know how to dress normally. Seriously, if they weren't even going to try blending in, they might as well have gone the whole nine yards and brought their weapons in with them. Although that might have produced more of an actionable reaction from library security instead of the raised eyebrows and outright gaping of the other patrons. Oh well. This was New York. If there was any place they should be able to get away with it, this would be it. Tora lowered himself into his seat with a sigh of relief.

"Next time we need to meet on my side of the world." Joi shrugged.

"Last I heard, you and Faraji lost track of your recruits. We haven't and we're still working here." Tora straightened his shoulders, unwilling to be cowed by the travel exhaustion.

"I didn't lose my target. I made contact and am waiting to hear back from her. It's a big decision. Although, I'd say my odds are good that we'll get a favorable response." She shrugged again.

"Not everything is an affront to your honor Tora. Relax." That just made him bristle more, but she wasn't inclined to care, turning her attention to Faraji. She didn't need to ask. He was about ready to explode.

"No, I didn't make contact. My recruits were taken by some kind of professional mercenaries." She opened her mouth to comment, but her beat her to it.

"I didn't let them. I was fighting the one and didn't realize there was a second." Joi's brows shot up in astonishment.

"Someone got the jump on you?"

Her reaction wasn't out of place. Faraji was the unofficial leader among them and it wasn't merely because leadership was one of his particular strengths, at least not entirely. Each of them had traits, natural skills and qualities, that their ties to the Tribunal heightened. Faraji's were leadership and stealth. Adam had strength and determination. Tora's were teamwork and loyalty. And she had speed and fearlessness.

But through his unshakable calm, tactical cunning and sense of responsibility, Faraji and taken charge during the invasion and managed to get the four of them through it alive. He'd earned her respect the hard way, a rarely accomplished feat by anyone, and now she would willingly give him the benefit of the doubt and follow his lead. All he needed to do was ask. He frowned at her question, but acknowledged that it was a legitimate concern.

"Hit by a sniper. I suppose I should consider myself fortunate that the shooter wasn't using actual bullets. Though I would not want to take another stun dart again if I can at all avoid it." Her jaw clenched. She didn't like that someone had taken a few of their potential recruits and she especially didn't like that they'd been able to make and take down Faraji. Someone, somewhere needed to learn their place.

"Do you have any idea what happened to your recruits?" Just like Adam to not dwell and keep pushing forward to their goals. Faraji shook his head.

"Just gone. No identifying markers that I could see. All I know is that one of them was a Tiger Mutant." Tora tapped his chin thoughtfully.

"There was a rather famous mercenary of that description in Asia several years back, but no one's heard from in a while. I assumed he'd gone inactive." For mercenaries that generally meant disappearing into retirement or death. Faraji nodded.

"Noted. After this meeting, I want a report of everything you know about him. Meanwhile, how are you two faring?" Adam shrugged and Faraji gestured for him to elaborate.

"I have approached one of my candidates. Thus far, she is not receptive, but I haven't given up yet." Faraji sighed in dismay. Adam not giving up didn't indicate hope. It was just Adam being Adam. He turned his attention to her.

"The majority of mine are a little reclusive, but I did drop in on the one I've seen the most of." She couldn't help but smile as she thought of him. Like Faraji, he'd made the short list of people she respected. Honestly, she was kind of looking forward to their next encounter.

"I left him my card in case he ever gets bored of pounding on losers and wants to step up his game." Faraji groaned and massaged his temples.

"That's it? You didn't explain anything at all." She shrugged.

"Either his interested in taking his work to the next level or not. Until he decides, the details aren't really that important." Faraji looked like he was silently counting to ten and that made her smile too. Respect didn't mean she didn't enjoy messing with him.

"And you really think that he's just going to call you based on that?" Tora was back on his high horse again. No one did indignant like Tora. She was about to tell him where to shove it, when her phone rang. Perfect timing. With a triumphant smirk, she answered it.

"Raph. Good to hear from you. Given any thought to what I said."

"Enough." His voice was gruff. She liked that.

"And?"

"It's a possibility." Yes!

"Under one condition." What?

"If you help me out on a mission, I'll arrange for you to meet, audition or whatever it is you want with me and my brothers and we will hear whatever pitch you've got for us." Interesting.

"If not, we're done with you for good." She could work with that.

"Alright. You got yourself a deal."

"What? Just like that? You don't even want to know what you're getting yourself into?"

"Yes. Just like that. I'm confident that I can handle anything you've got planned for me. And believe me, I'm not done with you yet."

She almost laughed out loud at the awkward, uncomfortable pause that followed. He really was a lot of fun. She just couldn't help throwing subtle innuendos his way just to watch him trip over them. It was cute. And if ever did decide to take her up on it, all the better.

"Uh, good then. I'll call back with the details."

"I'm all anticipation then." He hung up abruptly and she did laugh. So much fun. Her three companions were just staring at her.

"We're one little favor away from having a new set of recruits."

* * *

Raph stared down at his T-phone like it might bite him. What was with that lady? Maybe he'd have Donnie call her back when they ready to hand out assignments. The genius might have a better shot at figuring out what she was on. Looking up, he saw his brother staring at his computer in dismay.

"You ok Donnie?" He leaned back in his computer chair with a groan. Normally, Raph would let Venus handle it. She had a way with Donnie, but she was with Splinter getting updated on the situation with Carter, in case she had something in her bag of tricks to help him get his 'problem' under control.

April and Casey were making a food run. And Mona was… He didn't really want to think about that now. One crisis at a time. And right now, Donnie was the crisis at hand. Besides, as acting leader it, he should really be the one anyway. It's what Leo would have done.

"Donnie?"

"I don't know how we're going to do this. They have so many people. People with guns. People trained with guns."

"And we have stealth, experience and purpose. If they think they're ready for us, they're wrong."

"But their security, it's…Raph, I don't know if I can get past it."

"Donnie, I've seen you hack into the computer mainframe of aliens from another dimension that you'd never before encountered in a matter of minutes. These guys got nothing on you. So where's that smug genius who's always right?"

"But Raph, it's just…without Leo and Mikey…We haven't got the A team or the B team." Why did he ever call them that? Right now he could smack his younger self.

"You and Mikey aren't the B team Donnie."

"A minus team."

"You're not that either. I was kidding."

"No you weren't."

"Then I was being me. You know that. But seriously, everybody on this team is important and you do as much anyone if not way more. How many times would we have been sunk without you?" He saw his brother calculating and decided to push ahead before he got a very specific, numerical answer to that question.

"And no matter how we team up, we're still gonna rock our enemies. So let's hear it for the Alpha team." Donnie did actually grin this time as he met Raph's fist bump.

"Alpha team sounds good."

"Yeah, it does. Now let's save our family."


	49. Chapter 48: Maturity IV

**Maturity IV:**

~Over 3 Earth Years Ago~

Max Wilsocchi banged the back of his head against the cell wall, reminding himself of just how impenetrable their prison was. Looking around at the terrified cluster of people sharing the cell with him, he wondered whether or not they really were the lucky ones. When they'd been brought here, they'd seen what became of the others, transformed into freakish piles of mindless goo with arms and legs and used as slave miners. And yet, he thought he caught the words 'experimental test subjects' to refer to them in that bizarre form of talking the robo-aliens used. Maybe something much worse than slavery awaited him and his cellmates.

It was hard to believe that just a few days ago, everything had been so normal. They'd been building a new high rise on Manhattan. Construction work might not have been the most glamorous of jobs, but he was good at it and proud of his work and other employers got all snobby when you didn't have a high school diploma or a GED.

Maybe other construction companies did too. He wouldn't know. But his foreman, Phil, had taken a shine to him and recognized that he'd be a hard, conscientious and smart worker. After his ill-advised disaster of a marriage, it was the perfect fresh start. Until the invasion and everything went to hell.

He looked up and almost had a heart attack. No way! It couldn't be! But there he was. Max could only see him from the back, but he was certain. That was his father-in-law, talking to the robo-aliens. He'd gone missing when Hazel was twelve, and being the consummate daddy's girl, she'd never gotten over it. One of the many, many problems in their brief, doomed union. What was Mr. McIntyre doing here, working with the invaders?

Another version of his father-in-law approached the group and Max almost screamed out loud. It was buttoning up a shirt over a robo-alien body. Hazel's dad was one of them. One of who knew how many copies. Holy crap!

In a sudden moment of clarity, Max realized that the disaster that was his life all came back to her. It was all Hazel's fault. If only he'd never gotten involved with her. She would never have destroyed his innocence and he probably wouldn't have left their sleepy, near vacant mining town for a new beginning in New York, just in time to get mass abducted.

He should have known better. After all, he'd spent years as a kid working chores for her grandfather, because everyone in her community was too terrified of him to hire local. She'd been such an absolute spoiled brat then, eventually losing him his much needed job by tattling when he'd accidentally hit that poor beaver while skipping stones in the river.

And yet, when they'd ended up in the same high school, the one shared by two communities, too poor to afford the institution without combining their meager resources, he fell for her the moment he saw her. He fell hard. Somehow that brat had become a bombshell and hormones overwhelmed reason.

He'd been so miserable throughout high school watching her date all those other losers who'd thought they were so important. The day she'd finally turned her eyes to him felt like a miracle. At the time. In retrospect, he would have been better off if she'd kept on ignoring his existence.

And now her dad was one of them. If she had room in her head for anyone other than herself, he'd wonder if she was in on it. Yet, it seemed too much to be coincidence. This was all part of the McIntyre curse that existed to destroy him.

"Kraang, take the ones known as the experimental test subjects to what is known as the tertiary test laboratory. It is time to begin what is known as the test for what is known as the energy spliced mutagen."

"Kraang is what is known as on it. Kraang should not do what is known as get Kraang's undergarments in a bunch." Despite his earlier disdain of his companions' terror, he cowered back with the rest of them as the robo-aliens approached.

~Present Day~

Max tested his bonds yet again, with no results. The powerful energy field still kept him contained within his cell. In a superficial sense, he still knew who he was or at least who he had been on the rare occasion that his mind was clear enough to pick through the broken shards of memory. But mostly he only knew the all-consuming rage that drove him to fight, to destroy, to tear down the world, a task annoyingly impossible in this cage. He tested the restraints again, but failed to break free with another cry of frustration.

Then a descending whir echoed through the empty hallways and his energy containment field dissipated as the lights went down. Stretching his power outward, he shattered his cell to pieces, laughing maniacally. He was finally free.

* * *

East slipped into the Kraang facility, shadowing her two Salamandrian colleagues. For the moment their stealth was perfect, but she knew that her companions were only complying for the pleasure of turning their violence loose in the heart of the base. Not exactly the ideal comrades, but now that she and the other Utrom had finally decided to stop hiding and to start actively fighting their Kraang brethren, they needed all the allies they could get.

The Salamandrians waited, less than patiently, for her by the control panel. Both of them were capable of cracking the base's security but she could do it much more quickly and thoroughly. That didn't mean it wasn't extremely dangerous for her. Activating the interface with her robotic hands, she stretched out her mind to link with the psykinetic port to manipulate the computer both physically and mentally.

If the Kraang became aware of her presence, they could easily drag her back into the slavery of the hive mind through the link she'd voluntarily established. Fear of that fate had caused defectors among the Utroms, willing to serve the Kraang in exchange for their mental independence. It was just another kind of forced servitude though.

With her mind connected, she was fully aware of all the files stored in this place although she only pulled up for viewing the one that mattered for the mission. The Turnstone. The Kraang had finally managed to construct one and her team needed to get it out of their tentacles before all was lost. As her companions absorbed the details of the stone's location and defenses, to her surprise, she discovered an old friend. Still alive somehow. She needed to get him out of here.

"Raka raka raka. We've got what we need. Let's move."

"No D'keethik. You and Y'Gythgba go for the stone. There's someone here I need to rescue."

The two Salamandrians eyed her suspiciously for a moment before deciding that they didn't have the time to waste on argument. And just like that they were gone and she was alone. Carefully, she retracted her consciousness from the computer system. She raced through the hallways that where somehow innately familiar to her despite the fact that she'd never been here before. Finally, she made it to the interrogation chamber. Activating the door, she almost cried out in dismay at what she saw. Instead she whispered only one word.

"Rook."

Her fellow Utrom had been stuffed into a bionic maintenance tube, pierced through with countless needles, like an Earthen pincushion, designed to both keep him alive and torture him. Obviously Rook hadn't told them what they'd wanted or he wouldn't be kept like this. It had just been good fortune that Rook had been taken while on Earth or all his work might have fallen into the hands of the enemy.

For their own freedom and safety, all Utroms had destroyed their psybellum, the part of their brain that allowed them to connect into a single group mind, so that Kraang Prime could not reach out her will and subjugate them again.

The one exception being a cybernetic implant that they equipped for special missions that might involve the dangerous process of hacking, like the one East wore now. Without it and knowing it needed to be used in concert with their computer systems, the Kraang could not forcibly link an Utrom back to the hive mind. So they would have needed to resort to more archaic means of information gathering. Rook must have been so very strong for such a long time, she could not even imagine.

Taking another daunting risk, she hooked into the nearby terminal, commanding it to release her friend while she scanned for more information. After several similar Utrom attacks, Kraang had learned to compartmentalize.

Hmm. There were human test subjects in this wing. Most of the invasion captives had died in some mutagen experiment a long time ago. In fact, all but one. Then there were two more human captives in stasis as a resource for Project Perfection. She would need to remove them from Kraang control for their own sake as well as everyone else's.

The containment unit opened with a venting hiss and the needles retracted, dumping Rook out onto the floor with a gooey splat. East knelt beside her dying friend and picked him up reverently, knowing that a merciful death was all she could give at this point. Rook managed a human-esque smile at him. That was so Rook. He had always loved humans the most.

"I didn't break. I never told them how to make it."

"I know. I know. Wait! Does that mean you actually made it?"

"Yes, most of the sample I made and my notes should be hidden in my old lab. The notes are hidden in the drawings that look like a human child made them. My treasures."

"I understand. Someone will be sent to ensure they don't fall into the wrong hands."

"I did have a small sample on me when they took me. I was working with it when they found me. It's different. Wrong. Unstable. They got it." East nodded her robotic head solemnly.

"I know. It ended badly for the humans they tested it on." Rook managed to cringe in sympathy.

"I'm so sorry."

"Don't be. You kept the secret safe." Rook's breathing became more labored and East knew the end was near.

"Goodbye my friend."

"Goodb…" And then Rook was gone. As if responding to his friend's death, the power suddenly went down leaving them in a darkened, depressing room. Then a few minutes later the backup energy systems kicked on and the room came back to life, reminding East of how dangerous her current situation was.

She placed Rook on a nearby table with as much dignity as the situation allowed, feeling keenly the loss of her acquaintance of many millennia, knowing that she did not have time to mourn properly right now. No. She couldn't leave him here like this. A quick search of the room, uncovered a small portable stasis tubing. Begging Rook forgiveness for the indignity, she stuffed him inside. That would have to do. Now she must go retrieve those humans.

Several hallways later, she found herself outside their stasis chambers. There was a simple switch to deactivate the stasis for easy access to the subjects. As the cylindrical tubes opened, she pulled out the nearby breathing masks and equipped them to the humans' faces to prevent them from asphyxiating in the Kraang atmosphere.

As they regained consciousness, the larger one leapt protectively in front of the smaller one. She assumed that they had learned to fear being awakened. Holding up her hands up in a human sign of peace and surrender, she watched the larger one looked at her in confusion and disbelief.

"I won't hurt you. I'm here to help you escape." The large human's eyes widened in an expression she'd learned to associate with the emotion of surprise.

"You don't talk like them."

"Despite my appearance, I'm not one of them. I'm an Utrom. We Utroms broke free of Kraang control and our now fighting them. My name is East. Come, I will take you to the Resistance."

The humans' eyes lit with what she suspected was hope. She gestured them to follow her out into the hallway. There were portal generators everywhere. She approached the nearest one and began typing in the coordinates, setting it to clear its memory after the portal closed. A shimmering pink triangle opened up. Then she turned back towards the humans and handed them Rook's canister.

"I have a mission to complete here, so I can't follow. When you arrive, tell them that East sent you. I'll meet up with you later." The larger human nodded cautiously.

Suddenly a roar at the end of the hallway caught all three of their attention. Enormously musclebound and purple, it was as tall as the entire hallway. Its eyes glowed red under its bald, spikey head and through its predatory teeth stretched an unnaturally long, forked tongue.

When she saw the tattered remnants of what looked to have once been jeans, now barely fulfilling the role of shorts, she abruptly realized that this was the survivor from the experiment with Rook's mutagen. Well, survivor might be exaggerating the situation. This one just hadn't been lucky enough to die with the rest. It roared again and began to charge.

"Go now!"

"East!"

The larger human screamed out her name and clutched onto the smaller one tightly as she shoved them through the portal and performed a flipping kick to destroy the generator. The triangle vanished, just as she ducked a punch that decimated the wall in the space where the portal had been.

In rapid series of motions, she evaded the barrage of punches and kicks the monstrosity threw her way. Even with millennia of training and the enhanced speed and strength of her robotic exosuit, she was barely keeping up her defense, completely unable to get a hit in.

Then the beast let out a shrill scream and a wave of pure energy blasted out from it in all directions. It collided with East, throwing her back against the nearest wall and frying her suit. Prone and paralyzed, she lay there as the monster bore down on her. She would face her end with dignity. As its massive hand reached out and violently wrenched her from her armor, she closed her eyes and waited for the inevitable.

* * *

Max closed his fist around the annoying pink creature and felt it squish between his fingers. Shaking the slimy remnants from his hand, he returned to the task of tearing apart his surroundings. As he tore free a door and threw it into the room it had once sealed, it lodged into what looked like a massive computer system.

Suddenly, glowing, pink triangles began opening and closing wildly all around him. The blinding strobe effect of the light hurt and caused him to clutch his head and sag against one of the walls, which almost immediately became another triangle and he fell through.

Landing hard on something cold and smooth, he found himself in a barren, frigid wasteland as the floating triangle winked out of existence. Antarctica, his mind supplied. He was finally back on Earth. The Earth that had betrayed and abandoned him to his fate. When he finally made it back to civilization they would pay for that. They would all pay.


	50. Chapter 49: Extinction II

**Extinction II:**

Lt. Y'Gythgba followed D'keethik over the wall and into the fortress, floating in the distorted space that resulted from the Kraang's disastrous attempts to alter their environment, inadvertently threatening all life in their universe. Not that the Kraang cared about anyone beyond themselves. There was no other way that so many natural enemies in their galaxy would have banded together otherwise. The threat the Kraang represented to all was simply too great to ignore. It had even broken through the seemingly impenetrable fractures in Salamandrian society.

Not that she minded. A smile unconsciously spread across her face as she caught sight of D'keethik ahead of her, his midnight skin with its bright orange accents standing out almost violently against the ever present, drab pink backdrop of Kraang space. Granted, her iridescent blue flesh wasn't any more subtle, but that didn't matter here. The Kraang were not inclined to rely on their senses to detect things. Since they'd done a quiet take down of the fire and ice belching stone guardians and their suits shielded them from Kraang scanners, it was almost too easy to sneak in. She wasn't worried. The real fight would be inside anyway.

As expected, the Kraang were too busy running their given tasks to bother with patrolling their own facility, clearly not concerned with the possibility of infiltration here in the heart of their territory. They'd wait for an alarm before worrying with awareness.

She and Deekthik paused in front of the first terminal they found and waited for their trailing companion to approach. It would be easy enough to hack on their own. The Kraang were never particularly creative when it came to their security protocols, but East would be much more efficient.

Her name had always sounded strange to Y'Gythgba, but D'keethik, who'd spent much time in worlds beyond, said that it was a common word from the planet the Kraang had been trying to farm. She didn't quite understand the Utrom's fascination with the place. D'keethik didn't have a very high opinion of it and she wasn't inclined to disagree.

The Turnstone file appeared and her eyes skimmed it. As expected it would be fortified, but nothing her team couldn't handle. The Kraang weren't expecting this strike. Foolish. As though any of their neighbors would be comfortable with them possessing such a powerful device.

Now that she could see the exact specs on how it worked, she felt even more unnerved by its existence. This was too dangerous for anyone to possess. It needed to be destroyed. At least she knew what the Kraang interest in that obscure, other-dimensional planet was. It contained a key ingredient to the Turnstone's creation. Once they dealt with this copy, they would need a plan to interfere with the Kraang's access to this Earth place. It was too dangerous.

"Raka raka raka. We've got what we need. Let's move."

"No D'keethik. You and Y'Gythgba go for the stone. There's someone here I need to rescue."

She narrowed her eyes suspiciously at East. Y'Gythgba had worked with her long enough that she knew the Utrom never deviated from the plan. But they'd also been together long enough for East to earn Y'Gythgba's trust. She'd get the whole story out of the squishy, pink blob once they were safely out of here. With a slight nod to D'keethik, they moved out, leaving East to her own plans.

They started out stealthily, avoiding the odd Kraang droid here and there, as they made their way towards the Turnstone lab. D'keethik had a lot of experience moving through Kraang strongholds as he'd infiltrated several and even broken out of one of their detention facilities before. The Kraang proved to be no obstacle.

At the lab door, she waited as D'keethik attached some explosives. They stood on each side of the door and he depressed the detonator. She flinched away from the force of the explosion as the door blew inward. Before the room's inhabitants had a chance to recover, she and D'keethik darted in, simultaneously lighting up the Kraang with laser blasts from their wrist guns.

By the time the Kraang got it together enough to start returning fire, they'd already closed the distance, rendering ranged weapons useless. While severing the droids around her with her bladed wrist and tail gauntlets, she drew her laser blade and began cutting her way through the horde towards the apparatus, central to the room. The Turnstone rested on a pedestal, surrounded by an energy barrier and guarded by a line of Kraang Biodroids.

Behind her, D'keethik fired a white, electronic disc into the control panel behind the Biodroids before launching a cluster of seeker missiles at them. The Biodroids staggered and stumbled backwards as the missiles found their targets, just in time for him to trigger the explosive disc. The force drove the damaged droids towards her and she gracefully dodged their clumsy attempts at attacking her, while burning out their power cells with a few well-placed slashes of her sword.

More importantly, the explosion momentarily knocked out the power to the facility, taking down the barrier with just enough time for her to flip through and snatch up the stone, before the backup generators began running. It was a small thing, brown, clear and crystalline, fitting completely into the palm of her hand.

She carefully tucked the innocuous appearing disaster waiting to happen into the one of the belt pouches of her shimmery, aqua colored armor. She'd always thought that D'keethik's armor, plain white, was sterile and unimaginative, but on him it she had to admit it did look good. Especially when tossing Kraang around like rag dolls and pounding them into squishy, robotic pulp.

Charging back into the fray, she began cutting down Kraang left and right, until finally the last one fell and only she and D'keethik remained alive. Disappointing. For something so precious as the Turnstone, she would have thought that they'd put up more of a fight.

Suddenly portals were opening and closing wildly all around the room. They needed to get out of here. In wordless agreement, they turned to flee the facility, rapidly, dodging and ducking each new portal.

They were almost to the main door, when a portal opened up right in front of her, angled so that she'd just stepped into it as it opened. Already committed to the motion, her weight was all forward with no resistance to step off of on the other side of the portal. She growled with the effort to throw herself back from it, but she simply had too much forward momentum. Ahead of her, from the other side of the portal blocking her view, she could hear D'keethik cry out as she fell through.

"Y'Gythgba!"

* * *

Drall oversaw her workers, industriously digging into the planet's surface to withdraw the precious elements necessary to repair their ships. Once the diggers and burrowers harvested enough kloxon and lythor from this barren little rock, she could deliver it to the metabolizers to devour, transform and regurgitate as chitin for the constructors' use. Bean would take credit of course when the work was reported to Queen Maligna but that was merely a natural part of their society's hierarchy, irksome as it was.

And then the air above them was rent open into the shape of a glowing, pink triangle and what looked like a blue lizard creature fell through. Drall watched in shock as it curled into itself, flipped around and landed on its feet, using only one hand for additional ground support despite the high drop. Not bad for a flightless creature. But, as a lizard being, it was far too similar to their mortal enemies for comfort. Scul would want to study and interrogate this creature.

"Capture it. Alive if possible!"

The workers returned to the drudgery of their tasks, but the surrounding guards took wing and closed in on the intruder, stingers and projectile acid vomit ready to strike. But the interloper didn't fall. Instead, it dodged the projectiles with a series of acrobatic flips, before the troops made it into melee range.

Then, as its bladed tail sliced two units straight out of the air, it withdrew a two pronged, glowing blue sword, curved at its pointed tip. The soldiers spun and wove around it, but it was just too fast, cleaving them before they could find an opening to spear it, or at least inject a little venom to disable it. This was not going well. The panicked workers were already beginning to scatter. Seeing the wisdom in this, Drall followed suit. She'd worry about her superiors' wrath later.

* * *

Y'Gythgba chopped the last monster insect down and, seeing the other bugs scattering to any and all available crevices, put her sword away. She hadn't wanted to use her wrist blaster as the charge was at nearly a quarter and she'd rather save it for when she really needed it. The bugs, enormous as they were, did not constitute a serious threat.

A quick glance at her forearm computer told her that she was someplace completely new and uncharted with all readings coming back unfamiliar. She was going to need a guide. Charging after one of the fleeing bugs, she burned off its wings with a well-placed laser blast as it tried taking to the air. And that's why she was conserving her blaster energy.

Now that they were both grounded, she easily caught up with the injured creature, grasping it by what she assumed was the back of its neck and lifting it into the air. It's now incinerated wings had been long, broad and crystalline with black webbing splitting the glassy surface into a myriad of panes.

Its body felt strange in her grip. Her own skin was covered in shield-like scales, but this creature had no give it all, as though the entire surface of its skin were solid, glossy brown, brittle armor. If she squeezed hard enough, she was sure it would shatter.

Its body was made up of bulbous segments, connected at narrow junctures. The biggest end segment, had long, large hind legs and the middle segment held two sets of narrow stick-like arms with unimpressive talons for hands. Its head, shiny and round had two sets of glowing green eyes and large mandibles protecting a mouth, out which stuck several rows of what must pass for teeth in this thing's species. Its fluffy yellow antennae twitched wildly in what she suspected was an expression of fear. What a bizarre organism.

"Tell me where I am?"

It cowered when she spoke, spluttering out series of clicks and buzzing noises. It likely didn't speak Salamandrian any more than she could understand what she assumed was its language. With a sigh, she used her free hand to initiate the universal translator in her forearm computer and waited as it absorbed and analyzed her captive's sounds. A few minutes later it had found enough of a pattern to start as it kept working at the problem.

"Please don't hurt me anymore. I surrender! I surrender!" Pathetic.

"Enough!" The translator altered her speech to be comprehensible to her captive, who promptly fell silent.

"Who are you?"

"Drall."

"Tell me Drall, where is the Kraang sector of space from our current location?" The bug blinked all four eyes rapidly.

"What are the Kraang?"

This was bad. Everyone in her universe knew about the Kraang. At least as far as she knew. Had she dimension jumped? If so, she could be anywhere in the infinite multiverse with no way home. There was only one interdimensional location that she was even aware of. What had D'keethik said the native word for the mud ball had been?

"Do you know a planet called, Earth? That's what the inhabitants would refer to it as." More blinking.

"Yes. I think so. That's more Scul's area of expertise. I'm just an overseer."

Well that was some measure of hope. If she could get to Earth, maybe there would be some leftover Kraang tech that she could use to get back. It was a long shot, but the only one she had.

"Just an overseer?"

"Everyone has their purpose, a task that suits just them. And when each of us does our assigned job, our society as a whole functions."

Just a cog in a machine then. Not like Salamandrian culture which prized the quest of self-perfection. Her people expected individuals to master as many skills as possible to maximize their personal versatility. To be locked into a single job forever was unthinkable. But to each their own.

"I need to speak with this Scul. Discretely. You will take me to Scul and if I even sense a whiff of a trap, I will take you apart. Do you understand?" Drall nodded meekly.

"Lead the way."

She released the insect-person and followed it to what looked like a hive, armored in a substance, similar to Drall's skin, only much, much stronger. It was oblong with an outer, honeycomb structure. As they approached one of the large hexagonal openings, she realized, to her disgust, that there was a thick membrane just inside that opened into an iris door in response to Drall's proximity.

She couldn't help but wonder if the structure was alive in some way. Following Drall through the pulsating tunnels, constructed from the same type of membrane as the door, felt uncomfortably like being inside some creature's digestive system. They finally arrived in a large open room, with a window that looked eerily similar to Drall's burned off wings.

"I'm not really a pilot…"

"Then extend your skill set if you at all value your life." More antennae twitching as Drall approached a lumpy wall by the windshield and jammed all four of its hands into the gooey openings. It looked almost as though Drall was chemically controlling the vehicle. Eww.

Feeling the pressure as the ship launched towards escape velocity, Y'Gythgba realized that this was a spacecraft. If they were meeting up with Scul on something similar, that would badly complicate her situation. Before she could dwell on that too long, Drall started making a series of high pitched, thrumming squeals that her computer translated as screams.

"Silence! What is the problem?"

"Triceratons! I'm not a pilot! We can't get away! Oh no oh no oh no."

She looked out the window to see dozens of triangular ships around an enormous structure of stone that looked as though it had been capped, in a similar manner as the ships, and ripped straight out of the surface of a planet. With no air resistance in space, ships didn't need to be particularly aerodynamic, but still. What could they have been thinking when designing such monstrosities? It didn't matter. She could handle this.

"Drall, do as I say and we'll be…"

Before she had a chance to guide the panicked bug through evasive maneuvers, the Triceraton ships completed their lock and hit the ship with blindingly bright orange, continuous blasts of energy. She cringed, waiting for the explosions. But they never came. Instead the hull began to glow and their ship was being pulled in. Tractor beams. So they were to be captured alive. She turned to Drall, who was now frantically stuffing gob after gob of a vile looking purple substance into its mouth.

"Drall?"

"I won't let them take me alive!"

Then Drall paused, dropped all current handfuls and doubled over as it began to melt from the inside out with a series of pained gasps. That was not a good sign. But whoever these Triceratons were, she would not be going down without a fight. She centered herself and waited for them board.

* * *

Commander Mozar stood at the bridge, waiting as his soldiers dragged in the prisoner and was surprised to discover that it wasn't a Malignoid at all, but some kind of lizard creature, bound hand and foot in their most powerful restraints. Zog approached, carrying what he assumed was the lizard's gear, high tech though unfamiliar.

"Report." Zog gulped before speaking.

"Um, well…it took about almost a dozen of our warriors before we were able to subdue it. Do you think it's some new weapon of the Malignoids, sent to us on purpose to wreak havoc?"

Mozar growled in irritation. Obviously not. This creature was far too unlike the Malignoids to be of them. But somehow it had come into one of their enemy's spaceships. It merited further investigation. And his losses did require retribution.

"The psionic extractor." Zog nodded.

"Of course commander." And the other soldiers dragged its struggling body to the restraint chair. He waited as the machine powered up and activated, ignoring the creature's screams with practiced ease. Such was the way of things when using this device. Several moments later, it slumped unconscious, completely drained.

"Toss what's left into the brig, in case we have further use for it." Another head bob from Zog.

"Yes sir." As the lizard was dragged off, he made his way over to the analyst.

"So, how did it get that ship?"

"Complete accident. Commander look at this!"

His gaze roamed the files, opening up worlds of possibility as they did. The Earth could be altered to suit their needs in weeks, not decades. It was perfect.

"Zog!"

His aide rushed to his side, and he began rifling through the equipment until he found the storage belt. Systematically going through the pouches, he poured the stone out into his hand. So small, but it would ensure their future.

"Get this and those files to our scientists. I want a working prototype based off those specs by the end of the week at the latest."


	51. Chapter 50: Maturity V

**Maturity V:**

Raven sat beside him, watching the monitors beep. At least his vitals had stabilized. Now it was a waiting game. Fortunately, Chaplin was too unwilling to be parted from that serpent girl, Karai, to handle this personally. He'd made certain that Leo would survive, then was all too willing to kick the monitoring over to her. She almost jumped out of her seat when she heard Leo groan. He was coming around already? Remarkable.

"Wuh?"

"Hey Leo." Wincing in residual pain, he tried to move and realized that he was restrained to the table. She didn't like it, but couldn't think of a good excuse to break procedure.

"Where…What happened?"

"You were scheduled for…an exam. Normally test subjects are stunned first for technician safety during the transfer from cell to lab table." He cringed when she said 'test subjects' and she immediately regretted her use of the terminology.

"So, I'm being…examined?"

"Not exactly. The stun setting was wrong."

"Please tell me it was set too high." She huffed out an involuntary laugh.

"Yes, it was. The last time it was used, we had this nigh indestructible cockroach mutant, so it was set very, very high. No one checked it before using it on you. Honestly, you're lucky to be alive." His eyes widened at the mention of the cockroach mutant, but he gave no other indication of familiarity.

"Lucky? Yes, lucky enough to survive for the vivisection."

"No, you're just here to recover right now." He didn't appear to believe her, but there was nothing she could do about that. Were she in his position, she wouldn't trust either.

"Karai? Is Karai ok?" A sudden flash of jealousy flared in her chest as he mentioned the snake girl, his voice soft with concern.

"She's busy with Dr. Chaplin." His eyes widened in panic and she realized that he probably though Oscar was dissecting the girl.

"Not like that. She's got him wrapped around her finger, like a drooling puppy. No doubt he's seeing to her every need."

The flash of hurt on his face stopped her cold and she realized that she'd reverted to an earlier version of herself. Someone petty and selfish, who did whatever it took to get what she wanted with no concern for the consequences. Almost on instinct, she'd moved to drive a wedge between Leo and the snake girl because…because she felt jealous and possessive.

But she hadn't been that shallow girl for a long time and wasn't going back to being her now. The person she used to be would feel triumph at the harm she'd caused and moved in to sweep up her prize. But now…now she hated seeing that pained expression and wanted to clear the hurt away. She'd rather he be happy, even at her own expense. Painful as it was, it felt right. She needed to undo the harm, even at the risk of losing him. Unfortunate, considering that she'd just realized how drawn to him she'd become in their brief acquaintance.

Had this been how Max had always felt around her? Wanting but never truly having? For a moment she experienced a deep and intense regret over her ill-advised and short lived marriage. There was probably no making it up to him, but if she ever had the chance, she'd try. First, however, she needed to fix this.

"That's why the experiments have been halted. Your Karai has convinced Dr. Chaplin to put them on hold. So, for the moment, the two of you are safe." Sadly, he didn't seem to take any comfort in her explanation. Instead, he merely seemed to tuck it away to worry over later.

"No experiments then? Are you relieved or disappointed?" She flinched, but he'd asked it as an honest question and deserved an honest answer.

"Relieved. You're not like the others. You deserve better than this." He looked puzzled.

"So why are you helping them?" His confusion over her dilemma was so genuine it made her ashamed, a feeling she'd hoped to walk away from when she'd chosen this life. If only she could make him understand.

"I…I didn't used to be a very good person. I wanted to do better, be better. When the EDF recruited me, it was the chance I needed. To finally stop being selfish and do the right thing. To protect the world and all its innocents. Without the EDF, I don't know what or who I'd be. They're my chance to redeem myself." He frowned.

"If they're making you ignore your conscience, I don't think they are. Instead of doing right because of them, maybe you need to be doing right despite them. My father is a very wise man and he once said 'you are who you choose to be, not what others make you.' Raven, you don't need the EDF to be a better person. As long as you decide to be that better person, no matter the circumstances, you will be."

His words hit like an arrow in the chest and she couldn't breathe as her world seemed to tilt. She was at a crossroads and this conversation might be the signpost that she desperately needed. But there was too much swirling around in her head right now to see the way clearly. She needed to think.

"Thanks Leo…I…I need to go. Someone will be along to sedate you and return you to your cell."

"Raven?"

She didn't turn around as she left. Before anything else could happen, she needed to sort this out on her own.


	52. Chapter 51: Just IV

**Just IV:**

The first thing he knew was pain, like fiery sparks on the ends of his nerves all across his body, but compared to the pain he remembered it was a relief. What had happened? He'd been meditating, contacting his father and then…nothing. Nothing before this moment now.

"Wuh?"

"Hey Leo."

That voice. Familiar. He cracked his eyes open, each movement still rife with remembered agony from the last time he was aware. Raven sat beside him, looking relieved. He tried to move and realized that he was strapped to the table. His wrists, ankles, hips and chest were all locked in place with metal bands, leaving absolutely no wiggle room. He was not getting out of this.

"Where…What happened?"

"You were scheduled for…an exam. Normally test subjects are stunned first for technician safety during the transfer from cell to lab table."

Test subjects? Oh no. Try as he might, he couldn't block out images he'd seen in Donnie's science text books, particularly the anatomical diagrams. Was that about to be him? He really, really didn't want it to be, but could see no way out, right now. All he could do was face his fate with courage and honor as he had been taught. If he could endure this now, maybe a chance to free himself and Karai would present itself later. He needed to be strong and not let this break him.

"So, I'm being…examined?"

"Not exactly. The stun setting was wrong." It took all his willpower not to show how deeply relieved he was to hear that. Wait. Did she say the 'stun setting' was wrong?

"Please tell me it was set too high." She did her best to stifle a laugh and failed.

"Yes, it was. The last time it was used, we had this nigh indestructible cockroach mutant, so it was set very, very high. No one checked it before using it on you. Honestly, you're lucky to be alive."

The EDF had gotten the cockroach terminator? No wonder their stun system had been set to annihilate. That he hadn't been incinerated surprised him. All the same, as he was tied down in a lab that intended to take him apart piece by piece for study, he wouldn't consider himself fortunate.

"Lucky? Yes, lucky enough to survive for the vivisection." She looked aggrieved at that.

"No, you're just here to recover right now."

Really? After everything he'd recently experienced, he wasn't inclined to give her the benefit of the doubt that everything would be fine. They'd almost killed him and they weren't even trying. A thought abruptly struck him with violent intensity. What if they'd hit Karai with that too? Was she hurt…dead? No, he couldn't… Fearing the answer, but unable to live with the uncertainty, he asked.

"Karai? Is Karai ok?"

"She's busy with Dr. Chaplin."

No! He had to get to her. To protect her. His own fears of being a lab experiment multiplied exponentially when he thought it might be happening to Karai. Somehow he needed to get out of here. Now!

"Not like that. She's got him wrapped around her finger, like a drooling puppy. No doubt he's seeing to her every need."

There was something a bit off in Raven's voice, but he didn't have any energy to spend on it now. His relief that Karai was in no physical danger warred with his concern over her emotional state. She'd worked so hard to rise above what she'd been and now she'd needed to fall back into old habits to protect them.

He didn't want to think how far this would set back her perception of herself. If only she could see what he saw when he looked at her. Then she would understand. There was no need to prove her worth, no stain to wash away. She could just be. And it would be enough. He wished it were in his power to protect her. That she didn't need to compromise herself this way. If only.

"That's why the experiments have been halted. Your Karai has convinced Dr. Chaplin to put them on hold. So, for the moment, the two of you are safe."

Yes, he knew. And he was powerless to go to her. To let her know that it was ok. But dwelling on what he couldn't change would get him nowhere. If he was to be of any use, he needed to focus on the situation at hand. Where did Raven stand in all this? Enemy or ally?

"No experiments then? Are you relieved or disappointed?" She flinched at the question, but he believed her when she spoke.

"Relieved. You're not like the others. You deserve better than this."

Ok? So why was he strapped down here? If she knew what the right thing to do was, why did she hesitate? Why would she serve an organization that made her question herself this way?

"So why are you helping them?" For a moment, she just seemed lost. She took a breath to steady herself. Whatever the answer was, it wouldn't be easy for her to say.

"I…I didn't used to be a very good person. I wanted to do better, be better. When the EDF recruited me, it was the chance I needed. To finally stop being selfish and do the right thing. To protect the world and all its innocents. Without the EDF, I don't know what or who I'd be. They're my chance to redeem myself." He frowned. How could she not see what was so obvious?

"If they're making you ignore your conscience, I don't think they are. Instead of doing right because of them, maybe you need to be doing right despite them. My father is a very wise man and he once said 'you are who you choose to be, not what others make you.' Raven, you don't need the EDF to be a better person. As long as you decide to be that better person, no matter the circumstances, you will be."

Her jaw fell open and he realized that she'd truly not seen it that way before. Perhaps, now that she understood, she would help get him and Karai out of this nightmare.

"Thanks Leo…I…I need to go. Someone will be along to sedate you and return you to your cell." Or not.

"Raven?"

She didn't respond as she turned and walked away in a bit of a daze. Ok, that could have gone better. Now what? He futilely tested his restraints for a few moments, confirming that there was absolutely no breaking them or slipping free. They were essentially form fitted to him. A disinterested lab technician approached, but before he could try speaking, pressed a button one of the machines around him, making everything fuzzy and dark.


	53. Chapter 52: Defiant III

**Defiant III:**

Oh…what time was it? How late did he stay up last night? Had it been a television or a video game marathon? He couldn't remember, but he hadn't felt this bad waking up since the shellacne. Ugh.

It seemed like there was something really important that he needed to remember. Oh yeah! The jalapeno mochi! He could totally make it into a pizza topping. Hmm. Maybe with a few adjustments. Let's see. Instead of regular crust, pie crust. And chocolate syrup should replace the tomato sauce. Oh and melted marshmallow for cheese. It was going to be epic! He should get started right away.

Mikey tried to move and found that he couldn't. What? Was he tied down? How? Why? Was Raph getting back at him for Dr. Prankenstein's last house call? Unfamiliar voices drifted into his consciousness. What were strangers doing in his room? And why did his room smell so funny? It smelled…clean? Oh shell! The party crashers! He never made it home.

Adrenaline coursed through his veins driving the last of the fog from his mind. Yet it still took some effort to force his eyes open. Yes, they were all here, staring down at him. He tried to move again, forgetting that he couldn't. Now that his eyes were open, he could see that he was strapped down to a metal table, like the one in Donnie's lab that he used for experiments. Despite his eternal optimism, he felt a trickle of unease at that thought.

The one lady, his party host, stood at the foot of his table, angled up so he could see the room around him. Her expression was stony, but he remembered the flicker of doubt before that had given him hope. Maybe she was just a friend waiting to happen. It couldn't hurt to try. He tried smiling, but his face felt kind of funny.

"Hi! I'm Mikey. Cowabunga Carl is my stage name. What's yours? I mean your name, not your stage name, although it's totally cool if you've got one too."

His voice sounded thick and slurred, like he had a mouthful of food. Good thing that, despite his father's best efforts, he had a lot of practice talking that way. She didn't answer but her expression softened slightly. That was something. Score one for Mikey. The door opened and a middle aged, Japanese businessman rushed in, almost vibrating with excitement.

"You got it. It's perfect!" Mikey wasn't quite as fluent in Japanese as Leo, Donnie or his dad but he knew enough to understand. Excitement didn't have to be bad. Maybe this guy was nice.

"Uh, good to meet you too dude? Not that being kidnapped wasn't fun, but you could have just invited me." The man ignored him.

"Excellent work Pimiko. Your mother would be proud." The lady, Pimiko, frowned even more deeply at that.

"Gokomodo-san, he seems sentient. I don't think…"

"Now, now my dear. Remember that his sacrifice is for the greater good. Noble." Sacrifice? That didn't sound good. Mikey struggled harder against his bonds, but got nowhere.

"But, it's just that…"

"Nonsense. You're tired. Some rest is just what you need to clear these doubts away. Take the girls and get some sleep Pimiko. Everything will seem less muddled in the morning. I promise."

He thought, hoped, that she might argue more, but instead she sighed and turned to leave the room followed by the rest of the party crashers. They nearly collided with a man and woman in white lab coats who were entering at the same time they made their exit. He turned to the newcomers, trying to smile jovially.

"Hi! I'm Mikey!"

His voice was still bright, but there was an unusual element of strain to it that even he could hear. The lab coats completely ignored him and his heart plummeted. This was not going well. If only they hadn't taken his various stashes of shruiken hidden under his wraps, he might be able to subtly cut himself free.

But they'd been thorough. Really thorough. For some reason that thought made him really uncomfortable, but he couldn't place exactly why it did. He bet Donnie would know. Donnie knew everything. Goko, yeah that seemed like a good nickname, addressed the lab coats.

"Be careful. Set it up to drain slowly. It will be purest if taken from him alive and I want every last drop, understand."

They nodded and Mikey's stomach fluttered. Drain what? They wanted him alive at least. That had to be good. Well better than dead anyway. But as the lab coats rolled a terrifying machine up to his table, he began to reconsider.

It looked like the scariest tree he'd ever seen. And since that kind of included Snakeweed and the Creep, that was saying something. There was an inventiony-looking machine over a big glass box that could serve as the flower pot. Dozens of tubes sprouted out of it, with huge needles at the end. He'd rather have faced Snakeweed and the Creep combined all on his own than take on whatever this thing was. He absolutely, positively hated needles. They were the worst, even if Donnie said that they could be helpful. Donnie had strange thoughts sometimes.

The lab coats arranged the needle-vines all around him, hooking them to the machine bits of the table. Seeing that this was probably going to end with him getting a shot, or lots and lots of shots, he struggled harder, to no avail. Someone was going to save him from this. They had to. Even if it would be at the last minute. Someone was always there to save him. So he could never get hurt for realsies. He just had to have some faith. Right?

One of the lab coats pressed a button and the needles closed in on him. It was then that he realized a last minute save might actually not be on its way. And Mikey panicked.


	54. Chapter 53: Players and Pawns II

**Players and Pawns II:**

Eric looked around in disdain at the large, warehouse styled room filled floor to ceiling with boxes and crates, some opened and spilling out artifacts and antiquities from around the world, ready for examination, restoration and cataloguing. The nervous woman, dressed in durable work clothes with her wispy brown hair fluttering around her face and working its way out of her vain attempt to tie it back into a ponytail, stood examining his requisition.

As insane as it sounded, he needed a detailed list of specs for the mythological creatures, that's right imaginary beings, for whom he was supposed to be designing containment cells. It was idiotic, but he didn't have a choice. She sighed and brushed another unruly strand out of her face.

"Well it looks legit. I'll print you off a copy of our research. Wait here."

She took off, leaving him feeling deeply annoyed at being told to stay as though he were a dog. Who was she to tell him what to do? Some dusty academic looking for importance in old bits of pot and clay. Ridiculous. And how could one man, even Winters, be such a hobby collector that he required a private curator? Did he really need his own personal museum? What a waste of money.

Eric rubbed his neck, trying to will away the buzzing sensation in his skull that threatened a headache. It had started when he'd come down here. This place. Something about it was just setting him off.

To alleviate his discomfort, he began to pace. And noticed that, as he did so, the buzzing sensation waxed and waned. Curious, he played hot and cold to hunt down the source of his disturbance. It appeared to be emanating from an ancient looking stone medallion.

The carved rock was a round disk with an encircled square-cross with four smaller circles embedded in the larger circle equidistant from the ends of the cross, etched into its surface. Somehow the glyph had managed to survive the ravages of time. A straight hole had been drilled sideways through the top quarter of the piece to allow for it to be strung like a pendant. He doubted that the leather strip, strung through it was original but had instead been chosen for aesthetic purposes.

There was just something about it. He couldn't look away and wanted it more badly than he could ever recall wanting anything before in his entire life. Impulsively, he reached out and snatched the artifact, looping the cord over his head and tucking the pendant into his shirt. Then he stepped away from the table to return to his original position.

"Dr. Sacks?" He looked up as the woman returned, holding out a folder for him. With more graciousness than he'd shown earlier, he took it from her with a smile.

"Thank you for your assistance. I'd better get started on this then." Feeling lighter than air, he exited the storage center with an extra spring to his step.


	55. Chapter 54: Identity II

**Identity II:**

Pimiko halted her pacing to obliterate a fragile, wooden nightstand with a savage kick. She'd been unable to sleep despite her grueling schedule over the past few days and was only becoming increasingly agitated the more she tried staying pent up in her quarters.

Nothing seemed to be going right. She'd just assumed that after this slam-dunk success, she'd have officially left patronizing childhood behind and start being treated like an adult by everyone, particularly Gokomodo-san. But he'd dismissed her just like she was some punk kid without even hearing her out.

And he should have listened because she was right. She knew it. Sacrifices by the few for the greater good of the many sounded good in abstract theory, but every time she recalled that turtle boy's face when he realized what was happening, she understood that it was just a pretty euphemism for something vile and ugly. There was a reason that ethical rules governed medical experimentation on people and that turtle boy, Mikey, definitely counted as people.

She couldn't stop thinking about their brief conversation at the mock party and the way his eyes shone when he'd spoken of his family. A family that was probably panicking by now. No wonder her mother always gave such careful consideration to every job before deciding whether or not to accept it. And yet she'd agreed to this one without a second thought, thinking only of proving herself without any concern for the consequences.

There was some irony that she'd acted so much like an eager child while trying to demonstrate that she wasn't one. It was probably why Gokomodo-san came to her instead of her mother with this. She'd been a fool and, friend of the family or not, he'd used her. No. She was going to set this right. It was her mistake and up to her to correct it.

A quick glance at the clock informed her of just how late it was. At this time of night, there'd be a skeleton crew at most and, already being on the inside with high level clearance, she wouldn't really need to worry about security. Freeing him would be so easy. Getting him home would be another matter.

She had access to her mother's accounts, so money was no object. There would have been a certain level of satisfaction if she could have used her payment for this job to fund the rescue, but she doubted that the transfer had gone through yet. Well, she'd use it to reimburse her mother afterwards.

So what resources could she make use of? Normally, while in Japan, she would be turning to Gokomodo-san for aid, but obviously that wasn't going to fly. Hmm, her mother had once mentioned a ninja clan that she highly respected, the Hamato. She'd worked with them before and described them as honorable and effective.

Too bad that contacting them for the contract would be a problem. The agent her mom had used, disguised as the proprietor of a ramen shop in Osaka, might still be active, but that had been before she was born. Well her options were limited and she didn't have time to screw around. It was a chance and if it fell through, then she would improvise. Doing so would certainly be a truer test of her skill.

The one thing that mattered was that Gokomodo-san could not be allowed to hold that child captive a moment longer than absolutely necessary. She needed to move tonight, now even, no matter how tenuous her plan.

Acting before overthinking could generate more paralyzing doubts, she was out of her room and heading down to the lab, before the enormity of her choice caught up with her. Doing this would probably permanently sever her family's connection to Gokomodo-san, but she'd never be able to live with it if she just looked the other way and ignored that boy's plight. Particularly because it was her fault.

Swiping her ID card, the door opened and she entered the dimly lit lab with a gasp. How could this be the same turtle she'd seen only hours ago? His arms and legs were pin cushioned with syringes attached to layers of tubing.

Whatever was being drained from him must be essential to his survival because his skin had taken on a distinctly grey pallor, obvious even in the low light. His once robust frame now appeared gaunt and slightly deflated. The overflowing vitality that had characterized him was completely absent. He just lay there in a state of semi-consciousness, breathing with labored, shallow gasps. This was her fault. She had done this. Slamming an emotional door on her guilt, she refocused on the task at hand. She ran a hand over his cheek, noting that his previously sleek, scaled skin now felt dry and papery.

"I'm so sorry. I'm going to get you out of this."

His eyes fluttered briefly, but otherwise he gave no reaction that he'd heard or understood. How as she going to get him out of here like this? One problem at a time. The first step was to get him out of this contraption. She pulled her hand away from his cheek, trailing it down his arm as she examined his restraints. As she got to his hand, his thick fingers briefly caught her more slender digits, giving them a small squeeze of acknowledgement before falling inert again. Small as it was, that sign of his awareness shored up her resolve. She would get this done.

It looked like the restraints were controlled electronically. She pulled out a knife and began prying the control panel off the side of the table. It had just barely started coming loose when she sensed the door open behind her. There was no sound, but the air pressure changed ever so slightly. Still crouched, she spun around, holding the blade out in front of her. She froze when she saw Gokomodo-san in the doorway pointing a gun at her. He smiled patronizingly.

"Pimiko, you really should have used the badge of someone who was actually supposed to be here. But patience isn't for the young I suppose."

He knew it was her and yet he'd still pulled a gun on her. Despite her own actions, she couldn't help but feel a small sting of betrayal. He was like an uncle to her. Why was everything going so wrong?

"I'll give you one chance to walk away from the turtle of your own free will." She felt her eyes narrow at the implied threat. On the upside, he was approaching her as he spoke. An unwise tactic while wielding a ranged weapon.

"I can't do that."

She answered just as he stepped in range and lunged forward, catching him by surprise. With the blade of her hand, she struck the gun from below, sending the shot off into the ceiling. Then she clamped her hand down on the barrel to stop the slide from loading the next bullet, hissing as the hot metal burned and the retracting slide pinched.

Twisting the weapon back out of his grip, she used her forward momentum from her lunge to plow a knee into his gut and drive him onto his back. As she turned his open weapon on him, she noted just how unusual the firearm was. It was bulky and poorly balanced. If this was some kind of lab prototype, it was badly done. Even though he'd almost put a bullet in her, she couldn't quite bring herself to fire upon him. He still felt like family.

She was about ram the butt of the gun into his temple when her instincts triggered and she rapidly switched direction to reflexively use the gun to deflect the weighted end a manriki away from the side of her head, losing her hold on the firearm in the process. It clattered to the floor, out of her reach.

The strike had come from Naoko. Her prized students, Naoko, Haruna, Sakura, Natsumi and Hana, flitted into the room and surrounded her. Her sense of betrayal deepened. Switching her knife to her uninjured hand, she prepared to defend herself against the weapons that she had created. Naoko had her manriki, Haruna her tonfas, Sakura her kodachi, Natsumi her kamas and Hana her sais. They charged in simultaneously and it was all Pimiko could do to hold them all at bay at once, switching from one opponent to the next with lightning fast reflexes to parry or dodge each new strike with no opportunity to go on the offensive. This was bad.

And then something sharp pierced her shoulder. The world became slow and fuzzy and she looked over to see that Gokomodo-san had retrieved his gun, a tranq gun. No wonder it was so odd. A sweep of Hana's legs against the back of her knees, one she was now too slow to avoid, put her flat on her back. As the darkness took her, she could hear Gokomodo-san address his loyal subordinates.

"Take her to the genesis room."


	56. Chapter 55: Teamwork IV

**Teamwork IV:**

Making use of her human appearance to drive on public highways, at least looking boring was good for something, Candy pulled the military transport up the service road that bordered Komodo Industries primary R&D facility. In less than a day, she'd managed, by either charisma or intimidation, to requisition all the equipment and transport they'd required for the mission without any questions asked or official paperwork filed.

Her unflagging determination was almost impossible for most to resist. Maybe the EDF was on to something when they saw talent in her. Too bad for them that they were so focused on what she could do that they hadn't paid very much attention to what she would do. Their mistake. She knew the line between right and wrong and on what side of it she stood. Even if the EDF didn't.

Dr. Rockwell fired up the onboard computer systems and started running some programs. As asked earlier in the day, she'd casually contacted some people who worked in the facility that also happened to be members of her metal organization. Striking up a friendly conversation with them to discretely gather the information about their pasts, interests and personalities had almost been too easy.

Now plugged into his algorithms, he should be able to use it to generate their most likely passwords to break through the security. Apparently users were always the weakest link in even the most elaborate computer defenses.

"I'm in." Candy took her position at the computer terminal, putting on her headset as she scanned through the building blueprints and activity logs.

"Ok, I'm ready." It would be her job to maintain group communications and guide them to location and around the guards throughout the mission. Meanwhile they would split into teams. Rockwell was looking over her shoulder and highlighted two locations on the screen, based on the activity logs.

"These are the active labs right now. He must be in one of them." Slash nodded.

"I will lead Umeko and Pete to this location. Leatherhead, you take Rockwell and Mondo to that one. Candy, keep us linked." She grinned.

"Let's do this."


	57. Chapter 56: Birthright II

**Birthright II:**

Ichiro brushed a strand of Pimiko's hair, come loose from her ponytail in the scuffle, out of her face and behind her ear. She was now restrained on a table similar to the turtle's, but the purpose of the equipment here was very different. His scientists had spent the better part of the day, combining the DNA that Sacks's company had prepared for him to the mutagen extracted from the specimen until preliminary testing indicated that it was now perfect for his purposes. It was finally time for him to fulfill his birthright and become what he was always meant to be.

But right now, he needed to Pimiko to understand, to realize the importance of this night. The tranquilizer had been mild, though immediately effective. It shouldn't be long now. He seated himself beside her and waited. When her eyes finally fluttered open, he was practically buzzing with excitement.

"Uuuhhh."

"Welcome back my dear. The fuzziness should wear off in a moment or two." Her eyes cleared and widened in panic as she realized that she was strapped to a table in a lab.

"Gokomodo-san? Why?"

"I didn't want it to be like this Pimiko. This was supposed to be a special night of ascension. We were to do this as a family."

"Do what? Family? You attacked me!"

"Pimiko, you must know that I would never harm you. I think of you as a daughter. But you were being a bit rebellious you know."

"Daughter?"

"Yes. You, your mother and I are going to be a family. She will understand everything when she returns. We will surprise her, you and I." He ignored her confused expression. It was only to be expected. After all, it had taken him years to fully understand. She would need to be guided through.

"Pimiko." She stopped struggling against her bonds and looked at him again.

"Do you know what the most noble and powerful of all creatures are, the ones born to rule?" She shook her head cautiously.

"Dragons. No being has ever captured the human imagination with such fear and reverence. They are the source of our awe and the foundation of dynasties. They represent authority itself. It is a travesty that they currently exist only in myth. But I am going to fix that, set it right. Do you know why acquiring the turtle was so important?" She slowly shook her head, looking increasingly alarmed.

"Because within it is a powerful substance that is the key to transformation. I have unlocked the genetic secrets to dragonhood and that substance will make transcendence possible. Pimiko, we will shed these weak, mortal shells and become something great. You and I first and then your mother, when she returns. No one else is suitable to be my consort, my mate. Together, she and I will found a new dynasty and rule as I know that I was born to do. My legacy. You will be a princess. And anyone deemed worthy will be given the gift and join the ruling class in the new world order. Can you see it? I can."

She was now struggling harder than ever before. He sighed. She couldn't see it yet. But after his transformation, she would understand. He began to program the machine, attached to her table.

"Don't worry my dear. Everything will be perfect. You will see. I will transcend first, as is my right and then your system will activate and give you the gift as well. After the transformation, you will understand everything."

He finished applying the settings, keying her system to initiate once the computer confirmed that his own change had completed. He wanted to witness her ascent onto godhood. And only him. No one else was worthy to see this. That was why he had dismissed all the others. To give them some privacy.

"Be patient my child. All will be well."

He turned and approached the empty table on the other side of the room, typing in the commands to start his own process. Then he calmly laid himself on the table and waited for all his plans to come to fruition. He flinched slightly as the needles rose and jabbed in, but refused to mar this beautiful experience with any sounds of discomfort. Then the injections began and he could feel the specially altered mutagen flowing into his veins. And against his best intentions, he began to scream.

* * *

Normally, when waking, Pimiko was alert in an instant. Not so this time. It felt like she'd been concussed. Her eyes fluttered open as she tried to recall her most recent memories. What had happened?

"Uuuhhh."

"Welcome back my dear. The fuzziness should wear off in a moment or two." Gokomodo-san? That's right! She tried to save that turtle boy, Mikey and…she needed to get up. Now! A few experimental movements told her that she was as restrained as the innocent she'd been trying to save. For a moment, all her mother's lessons on self-control flew out the window as the panic set in. What was he going to do to her?

"Gokomodo-san? Why?"

"I didn't want it to be like this Pimiko. This was supposed to be a special night of ascension. We were to do this as a family." Family did not tranq dart family and strap them to examination tables and what did he say about ascension?

"Do what? Family? You attacked me!" Amazingly, he actually looked a little put out by her reaction. What was he expecting?

"Pimiko, you must know that I would never harm you. I think of you as a daughter. But you were being a bit rebellious you know." Wait, what? No, he was like an uncle, not a father. She still intended to find her dad one day, using all the spy craft that her mother had taught her, and he wasn't going to be Gokomodo-san. Where would he even get thought from? He and her mom were never going to happen.

"Daughter?"

"Yes. You, your mother and I are going to be a family. She will understand everything when she returns. We will surprise her, you and I." What was he talking about? This whole conversation had taken on a new level of creepy. Impressive, given that it had started out with him trussing her up like a science project.

"Pimiko." There was something in the tone of his voice that froze her. She ceased her attempts to wriggle out of her bindings and met his eyes with an impending sense of dread.

"Do you know what the most noble and powerful of all creatures are, the ones born to rule?"

What was he talking about? It was as though a veil had been drawn back revealing the carefully concealed insanity lying just beneath. Not wanting the agitate the crazy stranger in front of her, she chose the safest route and shook her head, not wishing to guess at an answer that could set him off.

"Dragons. No being has ever captured the human imagination with such fear and reverence. They are the source of our awe and the foundation of dynasties. They represent authority itself. It is a travesty that they currently exist only in myth. But I am going to fix that, set it right. Do you know why acquiring the turtle was so important?" Set the right the lacking existence of dragons? What was wrong with him? Wait, she'd kidnapped an innocent kid for this? He was draining the life out of the boy to resurrect a myth?

"Because within it is a powerful substance that is the key to transformation. I have unlocked the genetic secrets to dragonhood and that substance will make transcendence possible. Pimiko, we will shed these weak, mortal shells and become something great. You and I first and then your mother, when she returns. No one else is suitable to be my consort, my mate. Together, she and I will found a new dynasty and rule as I know that I was born to do. My legacy. You will be a princess. And anyone deemed worthy will be given the gift and join the ruling class in the new world order. Can you see it? I can."

We?! Oh no, he was including her in this nightmare experiment! What had her mother being thinking leaving her with this psycho? Not that she'd seen it either until he'd allowed it, but how had her mom missed it? She was crazy good at reading people. Pimiko had to get out of here. Now! Abandoning finesse, she thrashed against her bonds for all she was worth. But they didn't budge. He began tapping buttons on the control panel attached to her table.

"Don't worry my dear. Everything will be perfect. You will see. I will transcend first, as is my right and then your system will activate and give you the gift as well. After the transformation, you will understand everything." No! She didn't want this to happen! There had to be a way out! She didn't want this!

"Be patient my child. All will be well."

She kept struggling, though her rational mind distantly informed her that it was useless, while he moved over to his table and began keying in some instructions. He laid himself on his table and a series tube attached needles, mechanically curved up from underneath and jabbed into his arms and legs. She could see a greenish-blue, glowing substance moving up through the tubes until it reached him. And he started screaming.

Oh no, he's just set this to automatically happen to her once it was done with him. This wasn't how she wanted to die. Not that she wanted to die at all, but definitely not like this. And then he began to twist and contort, tearing himself free of the needles to collapse onto the ground, still screaming.

Her stomach twisted at the sound of bones snapping and muscles tearing. She watched on in transfixed horror as his skin sprouted glistening, green scales that vaguely reminded her of rusted copper. Leathery wings sprouted from his shoulder blades and he doubled, then tripled in size. His face lengthened into a reptilian snout with a maw full of large, dagger-like teeth and his hands grew talons that would make any raptor proud. A thick spikey tail grew as an extension of his spine, swishing wildly about in whip-like motion.

When it finally stopped, he pushed himself upright and looked at her with yellow, reptilian eyes, reflecting no hint of sentient thought and unleashed a terrifying roar. Then she saw her own needles start to move. And she screamed.


	58. Chapter 57: Defiant IV

**Defiant IV:**

Renet stared into the pages of the dusty old tome, eyes narrowed in concentration. Or at least what she hoped looked like concentration. It was the history of some timeline or another from somewhere. She wasn't really paying much attention. The bulk of her awareness was on covertly watching Lord S.

It had taken her much longer than expected to find a workaround for his time manacle. Sometimes she forgot that he was a genius level inventor like Don. If she weren't a time-magic prodigy she'd have been screwed. As it was, they were on almost equal footing with him trying to keep her on task and her trying to live her life while learning on the job.

Still, she'd finally figured this one out and was just waiting for him to go on a mission so that she could escape back to Mikey. She had to fight a smile as she thought about her favorite turtle lest she give herself away. But it was difficult as he seemed born to make everyone smile.

Pretending to ignore Lord S as he approached to check the warding bracelet, she made a great show of appearing to read. Satisfied that his handiwork was still functioning, he picked up the Scepter of Time off its stand and disappeared through a portal.

Normally he would have said goodbye and explained a bit where he was going and what he was doing, but she'd been giving him the cold shoulder since he'd grounded her, so he'd finally given up attempting to converse with her. For now, at least. She probably had a severe lecture in her future, but didn't care.

Focusing on the invisible strands of energy being drawn from the Timelings to power her bracelet, she confirmed that they were responsible for her confinement. Although she still possessed the innate ability to sense them, the manacle prevented her from interacting with them or anything time related. Unless it didn't come from her. She dropped the book and approached her father's crystalline tomb.

"I need your help dad."

Fortunately, Lord S hadn't seen the harm in teaching her the mechanical-energy controls that he'd installed to manipulate the time stasis, in case they noticed anything that needed adjusting in the preserved memory of their respective fathers. Not that she would need it were she not wearing Lord S's stupid bracelet. Normally she'd be able to control every aspect of Null-Time at will. But he'd made them before she had become his apprentice for his own use.

It never fully released the stasis, lest they end up with partially decayed, nightmare parodies of their loved ones over repeated interactions, but it could be loosened just enough. While time did not pass here, Null-Time was still home to microorganisms that would happily devour the remains, so a stasis bubble was essential to preserving them.

Activating the controls, she slipped her bound hand inside the now semi-permeable substance surrounding her father's inert form. Her flesh tingled at the always strange sensation of time distortion and the lines of energy to her manacle were immediately snuffed out. She reached in and unlatched the bracelet, now as powerless as regular jewelry, before pulling it and her hands out and refreezing her dad. It would not be respectful to leave litter around him and she didn't want Lord S to know how she had escaped so that he could design countermeasures into the device.

Tossing it atop her abandoned book, she hurried off to her room to grab her temporal knuckles, another of Lord S's inventions, but one that proved useful enough for her to commandeer. Experience had taught her not to leave Null-Time without a weapon, even if she did expect to be with Mikey and his family. You never knew when things might get crazy.

Slipping them into the pockets of her jeans, without the Scepter she actually looked normal, she gathered her will and pulled on the fabric of Null-Time until it split into a portal home. One step and she was inside of the lair, the portal sealing behind her.

"Hey everyone!"

She paused in shock as she realized there was no response at all. How could that be? There was always someone at the lair. They never left their home completely undefended. Unless something catastrophic was going on. She closed her eyes and listened with senses enhanced by years of blindness. Nothing. This was very wrong.

Her heart fluttered in worry as she reached out to touch the now vaguely visible strands of time and space that connected the individual destinies of those inhabiting this place. She technically could do it all mentally, but the physical motions were a helpful crutch, particularly as she was really starting to freak out right now. Finding Mikey's, she latched onto it and summoned a window to the thread's source. Her heart about stopped.

"Mikey…"

Her voice cracked as she whispered his name. He appeared to her as a prisoner in a lab. A dying prisoner. Any thoughts beyond the all-consuming need to get to his side and defend him, save him, dropped away. Concentrating hard, she forced time-space into a door to get to him and dove through.

* * *

Carter had been standing just inside the partially opened lab door when a bright light illuminated the living area in the shape of a vertical rectangle and a blond girl in T-shirt and jeans stepped through. After recent events he didn't bother wondering whether or not it was real or questioning his sanity. He merely accepted it and waited to find out what level of threat this intruder represented. He stilled completely, refusing even to breathe.

"Hey everyone!"

She looked momentarily puzzled at the lack of response and closed her eyes to listen. Fortunately for him, he was utterly silent. Frowning more deeply, she opened her eyes, reached out and a glowing square of light appeared before her. He barely restrained himself from gasping despite her flashy entrance moments before. Her eyes widened in abject terror as she barely managed to speak.

"Mikey…"

Wasn't that the name of one of the kidnapped turtle brothers? Then she appeared to grab the air and rip it apart into another glowing door that she promptly leapt through. Not giving himself time to second guess, or even consider the wisdom of his impulse, Carter used all the physical training that he'd done over the years to launch himself into the living area with enough speed to dive through the portal an instant before it closed.


	59. Chapter 58: Professional II

**Professional II:**

Aditi sat down on the locker room bench, toweling down after her workout, knowing that it was probably a waste of time as she would be showering soon. But the sticky sensation of sweat covering her skin was annoying her. And wasting time was kind of the point.

Normally her modus operandi was to leave the moment she'd completed any job and confirmed payment, but this time she couldn't help deviating from her normal pattern. Something was up and she couldn't walk away without knowing what.

Saki had some kind of connection to that snake girl. After slipping him the file, she waited and watched, making a show of taking advantage of the EDF's impressive training facilities that were open to her as a temporary employee. On the surface, his daily pattern hadn't appeared to have changed from what her limited prior observation had told her it was, but since her visit, he'd seemed charged with single minded purpose. A quality she'd only ever seen in him while they'd been on mission. At other times, the energy seemed to simmer just below the surface.

There was a limit to what she could surmise without revealing undue interest, but she strongly suspected he was planning something. Something that had to do with the captive snake girl. And she wasn't leaving until she knew what.

Carefully choosing jobs that she could live with had always been a part of her personal and professional code. While there was no denying that girl was incredibly dangerous, it was not in the way of a mindless animal. The same descriptive labels could be used for her or even her daughter, so, given Saki's reaction, she was no longer certain that taking this job hadn't violated her own exacting standards of conduct.

Pimiko. She hadn't been away long, but missed her daughter with a hollow emptiness she'd become familiar with since returning to work after her child's birth. But as much as she desired to contact Pimiko to check in, she didn't dare. Her daughter had already passed the age of independence and wanted her mother's trust and respect, not overbearing, paranoid concern.

It had been a hard pill to swallow and still was, but giving her child the space she needed was necessary for the maintenance of their relationship. She would simply have to believe in Pimiko's ability to take care of herself. Knowing that she was with Gokomodo-san should have offered some relief, but there'd been something off about him lately that she couldn't quite put her finger on. So instead of reassurance, she only had more worry.

All there was to be done was to set those feelings aside for now and play busy until Saki made his move and the real story came out. From what she knew of him, it shouldn't be long now. Which was good. Because, she wasn't leaving until he did.


	60. Chapter 59: Balanced IV

**Balanced IV:**

Donnie checked the instruments again, knowing that they would soon be landing. For someone piloting an airplane for the first time, he was surprisingly calm. Granted, it seemed that modern aircraft were almost designed to have an easy learning curve for him.

This wasn't the plane of a 1920s barnstormer who flew off a combination of experience, instinct and thrill seeking fearlessness. What would be a daunting array of gadgetry to anyone else was a gift to him. An hour or two of research had yielded all the structural details of the craft and intimate knowledge of how each instrument functioned. In fact, he had several ideas on how most of them could be improved, but that would have to sit on the backburner for another time.

Between his knowledge of the plane itself along with everything he knew about the science of flight, the dash instruments made piloting an almost simple task, allowing him to easily apply all of his academic knowledge. Not that he didn't have any experience with flight. He'd designed and flown his own aircraft and managed alien spacecraft, picking that up as he went. This was different, true, but nothing that he couldn't handle.

He glanced over at his copilot and a had to fight a smile. Venus was gripping the arms of her seat so tightly, he was sure she'd leave fingerprint shaped dents in the metal. It wasn't really funny, but he'd never seen her so jumpy. Since he knew they were perfectly safe, it was kind of cute. But he valued his life enough to never to say so out loud.

His mind drifted to the surprising array of passengers further back in the plane. Obviously, Raph, Mona, Venus, Sensei, Aunt Amaya, April, Casey, Angel and Alopex had been anticipated. However, Raph's new 'friend,' Joi, had brought three unexpected companions. That might have earned her and her buddies a boot off the mission if Venus hadn't recognized one, Yoshida-san, as the man who helped her fight off the EDF agent. That had earned him and his group a modicum of trust and Donnie's gratitude.

It turned out, the large man had also approached Angel. Between descriptions of both Angel and Venus's encounters, half listened to while he prepped the plane after Mona had discretely dismissed the pilot and all flight staff, he'd gotten a general sense of what this Tribunal was and what it wanted.

But the very thought stepped so far out his comfort zone, ruled by the scientific method, that he just wanted to push it all from his mind. Venus had opened him up to mysticism in general, but that didn't mean she hadn't had to drag him kicking and screaming the whole way. He preferred myths where they belonged. In books. Not trying to recruit him for some kind of magical taskforce. But, per their agreement, he would give the matter as much consideration as he was able. Once his missing family members were safe and home.

Venus's grip somehow managed to tighten, something that seemed like it should have been a scientific impossibility, as he initiated the plane's descent. With very little time left, he pushed aside all extraneous thoughts, locking them into safe little mental compartments as he focused everything that wasn't used for landing the plane into reviewing their plan.

Mona had arranged for a car to pick her up. Other mutants and still-not-quite-trusted mythological humans would stay at the hanger, while she checked into the resort that her parents thought she was going to.

Meanwhile, Amaya, Casey, Angel and April would travel to the relatively near, public airport and rent transport for their group and equipment. Casey, April and Amaya would return here to collect them, while Angel retrieved Mona after she'd snuck out of the resort. From there they would all travel to the boundary of the EDF's main base. That part should be easy, a no brainer, but he wasn't going to jinx it by assuming it would go off without a hitch.

Still, he couldn't help but devote the lion's share of his concern towards the assault phase. He thought, hoped, that he was prepared, but he didn't dare feel secure in his preparations. This was supposed to be the most secure military installation in the world. Sure, they'd assaulted enemy headquarters before, but the Kraang, for all their intelligence and technology, were a special brand of idiotic when it came to security. And while they'd stormed the Shredder's cathedral a few times, he'd never had the resources of the EDF's at his disposal.

The EDF had the Shredder too now and there was always a chance that his involvement in warning them was merely the groundwork laid for an elaborate trap. Which meant they'd be expected and, therefore, screwed. He didn't want to dwell on that possibility, so he tabled it until fate decided to turn on them and he had no choice.

So assuming they stood a chance, he had, what should have been blueprints for the entire facility. He'd sent out a wave of emails to low level employees. Fortunately, a handful of them hadn't immediately junked the messages and some had even been dense enough to click the link, allowing his software to install in the system, thanks to inappropriately configured network settings.

It always amazed him how the incomprehensibility of computer systems to the general populace allowed completely unqualified people to con their way into jobs by using the right buzz words. Even the EDF wasn't immune to accidentally hiring people who had no right to call themselves network administrators. Thank goodness.

Cracking their system was essential to the plan. On extremely short notice, he'd custom built everyone little forearm computers with the map of the facility and live security feeds. There would have been so much more functionality that he would have preferred to include, but even he had limits when working on a deadline. Still, if they lived through this, he had a bunch of ideas for some awesome new team tech.

They'd breach the perimeter in three teams, with one hanging back. The forward teams would stealth their way to the lab as best they could from different directions, hitting it hard and fast, hopefully escaping with Leo and Miwa before the EDF even knew they were there.

In the likely event that everything went horribly wrong, the backup team would jump in with support that hopefully would be enough to complete the mission. As daunting as the consequences of failure were, there was no way he'd be leaving there without his brother and sister. Resolve hardened, Donnie brought the plane in for a landing.


	61. Chapter 60: Teamwork V

**Teamwork V:**

Slash charged through the hallways, almost impossibly silent for a guy his size, turning at junctures as Candy directed him through his headset. Behind him, he could sense Umeko and Pete following. They would make this quick. In and out.

"Slash, it's the room on your left."

He slowed to a halt and considered how he might want to go in. There was a small window in the door. It would probably be best to use it to check out the situation inside before busting straight through the door. Then he heard a scream, a little high pitched, but they were looking for Mikey after all. That did it. Speed trumped stealth.

With a swing of his mace, he hammered the door, sending it tumbling into the room and charged in after it. Upon entering he noted two important things. One, the person hooked up to the lab table was some girl that he didn't know and not Mikey. But what really froze him in his tracks was the enormous dragon man on the other side of the room. He even had Leatherhead beat for size.

The dragon opened its maw and Slash realized what was about to happen. In one swift motion, he quickly shoved aside Umeko and Pete, who'd followed him in, and turned, ducking as far into his shell as he could while remaining standing. As the gout of flame poured over him he couldn't help thinking, 'I really should have looked first.'

* * *

Umeko was momentarily stunned when Slash shoved her, breaking her fall with a graceful roll. She came out of it just in time to see him engulfed in a spout of fire gushing forth from the dragon man's mouth.

"Slash!"

Suddenly the fire stopped and she realized that Pete was fluttering over the dragon's head, pelting him with dozens of irritating pecks. As much as she desired to run over to Slash and reassure herself that he would live, she knew that wasn't an option. Pete was seconds away from acquiring the dragon's full attention and this room wasn't big enough from him to properly evade with flight. Besides, if they didn't take the beast down fast, they were all dead.

As the monster turned to snap up Pete in its massive jaws, she darted in towards it, unsheathing her blade and slashing across its now conveniently exposed neck. And her blade slid harmlessly off its armored scales. On the upside, the strike gave the creature enough pause to miss crushing Pete. On the downside, it was now focused on her.

It swatted and bit at her, but she nimbly dodged each attack, too busy evading to try for another strike. Then it whipped its tail around at her and as she flipped over it, the dragon's hand shot out and caught her around the middle with such force that she dropped her sword, hearing it clatter across the lab floor. She had an instant to look into the dragon's empty eyes before he began to squeeze. With this pressure, in less than a second, her bones would begin to break.

And then a heavy spiked mace came down on the dragon's arm. It hit with enough force that the beast dropped her and she collapsed to the floor gasping for breath. Unfortunately, it otherwise bounced harmlessly off the monster's seemingly unbreakable skin and bone.

Slash's instant of stunned disbelief cost him. She could only watch in dismay as the dragon's other hand formed a fist which it slammed into Slash like a wrecking ball. He flew across the room and hit the far wall so hard he almost burst through to the other side. As it was the metal structure now sported an impressive Slash shaped dent.

Umeko struggled to make her protesting body respond as the dragon prepared for another flame spray. Slash was too dazed at the moment to shield himself inside his shell. But she couldn't get her limbs to cooperate and was still staggering to her feet when the fire loosed.

And then a seven-foot-tall, yellow scaled mutant that she'd somehow completely failed to notice before was suddenly there in front of Slash, shielding him with his body. The fiery blast hit, pouring off to the sides around his torso, burning away the remnants of his shirt, though thankfully was high enough to leave his tattered jeans intact.

When the dragon was spent, the newcomer charged forward, but the great lizard caught both his fists in its large, clawed hands, holding them in a momentary deadlock. Then the dragon began to overpower the yellow mutant and opened its mouth for another gush of fire.

She didn't know how well the new guy would resist the flame at this range, especially with it pouring down on his head, and she wasn't about to find out. Without hesitating, she snatched up her sword and darted in, thrusting the blade upwards through the dragon's open mouth and straight into its brain. It shuddered violently for a moment before dropping like a rock. Umeko sighed in relief before sheathing her sword and staggering over to Slash.

* * *

Leatherhead ran through the building, counting on Rockwell's flight and Mondo's skateboard to keep up with him. The sense of urgency was too much for him to go any slower and still maintain a semblance of self-control. Despite all that happened to him, he still couldn't see how anything truly bad could be allowed to happen to his kind and selfless friend in a just universe.

"It's the door at the end of the hallway."

He picked up the speed and plowed right through it, tossing the torn off door aside as his large body, annihilated the unfortunate frame. He stopped and almost sank to his knees at the sight of what Mikey had been reduced to.

"My friend."

His voice cracked as he spoke and he could hear Mondo's sharp intake of breath as he veered around him into the room. Only Rockwell didn't gasp, going to that weird, disconnected science place in his head that he seemed to keep apart from his emotions.

Leatherhead and Mondo crowded around Mikey's lab table as Rockwell removed the needles with a pulse of his telekinetic power, before moving to examine the apparatus that had been used on the once bouncy little turtle. Mondo grabbed Mikey's hand and Leatherhead gently gripped his friend's shoulder, hoping the sense of reassurance that he wanted to offer would transfer. Mikey's eyes fluttered open and slurred heavily as he spoke.

"LH? Mondo? Monkeybrains?" Leatherhead couldn't help but notice Rockwell grimace at the moniker but was glad the doc let it go, given the circumstances. Mikey managed a weak smile.

"I knew everything'd be ok."

A quick glance at Rockwell, told Leatherhead that everything was not ok. Afraid to ask, but unable to stop himself, he started to speak, when a familiar young woman abruptly burst into the room.

"Mikey!" Renet pushed between him and Mondo to collapse at Mikey's side. Although the wattage wasn't even close to normal, Mikey brightened at the sight of her.

"Missed you honey. Everything's gonna be ok." And then he slipped back out of consciousness and Leatherhead's heart sank.


	62. Chapter 61: Adaptable IV

**Adaptable IV:**

Carter stepped out of the glowing doorway of light into what looked like some kind of fancy office building hallway. Where were they and how had they gotten here? And why was that girl running like she was in an Olympic sprinter going for gold? He could probably catch up to her running at his top speed. If he took off now.

But then he heard a piercing female scream coming from the opposite direction his quarry had run off in. It wasn't like a stock shriek used in movies or television. It held genuine, unmistakable terror. There was no contest. He took off towards the scream.

Before he had a chance to wonder how he would narrow down the source of the sound without more screaming, he entered a hallway where there was only a gaping hole in the wall where a door should have been. Were he a gambling man, he'd put his money at that room. He dashed up and peeked in before stopping cold.

There was a turtle man, not like the other turtles he knew but much more massive and singed crispy, struggling to stand. Behind him a katana wielding fox girl battled on honest to God dragon while a pigeon man flapped about wildly overhead, until the dragon swatted the poor guy into a wall with its tail.

The scream that brought him sounded again and his attention shifted to the woman fastened to the lab table on other side of the room. His jaw fell open. She was drop dead gorgeous. Were he given the option, he didn't think he could design a woman more physically appealing to him.

Robotic needles attached to the table were slowly arcing up and piercing her arms and legs. He mentally slapped himself. This was the creepiest possible scenario for checking a girl out and not why he was here. The tubing attached to the needles began filling with a bluish-green, glowing substance that he recognized all too well, even if the color was off. No! Not her! He wouldn't allow it.

Charging forward, he could feel the adrenaline coursing through his veins, changing him, and for once he didn't fight it. So much for this set of clothing. With enhanced strength and speed, he was beside her in the blink of an eye, ripping the needles out of her before the mutagen could get to her and ruin her life as it had his. She bit back a cry of pain as the apparatus came free and he mentally apologized but understood there'd been no time for anything less extreme.

He knew the moment she'd laid eyes on him. Her ragged attempts to breathe and compose herself culminated in a gasp as she froze. He cringed but tried not to take it personally as he pried off her restraints with his bare hands. To her credit, she didn't shriek or try to get away from him, holding her ground as she rubbed her wrists, sore and raw from struggling against her bonds.

"Arigatou gozaimasu." He blinked.

"What?" She started a bit.

"You speak English? Sorry, I was…I was just saying thank you." Man she was beautiful. He couldn't help but smile.

"Anytime. I'm Carter." She raised an eyebrow, but still smiled back in response.

"Pimiko."

The moment was broken by a loud crash and he turned to see that the massive turtle had been all but thrown through a solid steel wall. Ouch. That's right, they were mid battle with a dragon monster. Given creature's posture, Carter extrapolated from almost every fantasy film he'd ever seen that fire breath was forthcoming. And turtle man was in no condition to dodge.

Without thinking he threw himself across the room between the turtle and the dragon. As the inevitable flame poured forth, he raised his crossed his forearms to shield his face and head. And discovered that his freaky yellow scales were fireproof. It seared to the touch, but left only a mild sting as the flame ran over him like rushing water.

The moment the fire stopped, he ran forward without any real plan at all. But the dragon needed to be stopped before it could attack again. He swung with his left which the dragon caught, making his massive fist look small by comparison as it closed its taloned hand around it. He followed up with a right hook, which the dragon also snagged. And now they were caught in a push of war. One that he was rapidly losing. Although in his defense, if he hadn't been super strong, he would have been flattened immediately. But super strength apparently wasn't enough to wrestle a dragon. Maybe he could throw it, using the thing's massive size and power against it.

Before his fledgling plan could be implemented, the dragon opened its mouth wide and he realized that he was about to get the ultimate test of his fireproof scales. He hoped to God they worked because there was no getting out of the way in time. Not while he was trapped in this deadlock anyway. He could see the glow of the fire at the back of its throat, about to rain down on him.

And then there was a blade shooting up between him and the dragon right up through the roof of its mouth and into its brain. The dragon convulsed before releasing his hands and dropping dead to the ground. He threw the fox lady a grateful glance that she didn't really catch as she rushed to the turtle's side. He observed the stunned pigeon man staggering over that way as well.

Turning back to Pimiko, he saw that she was staring at the dragon with an unreadable expression. He took a few calming, controlled breaths as Master Splinter and Venus had taught him, settling his mind and could feel the transformation reverting. When he opened his eyes again, he found Pimiko staring at him in blatant disbelief. Was she blushing?

He abruptly became aware that between monstering out and battling the dragon, his outfit hadn't fared particularly well. He glanced down to see that he was almost completely nude, except for the tattered remnants of jeans that clung to him like the world's most poorly made set of cutoffs. At least they still covered what counted. Barely. He decided to pretend that he wasn't self-conscious about it and approached her.

"So are you ok?" Her eyes immediately snapped from his body to his face and her blush deepened.

"What?"

"Are you ok?"

"Uh, yes. Absolutely. Thanks to you." He grinned. She really was cute. Her dark, almond shaped eyes widened as she seemed to remember something important.

"The turtle boy! I have to rescue him!"

"Mikey?" They both turned to the giant turtle man who had now been helped back to his feet by his comrades. Pimiko blinked again before just rolling with it and forging ahead.

"Yes, that was his name."

"You know where he is?" She nodded. Turtle man gestured towards the door.

"Lead the way."

As they followed Pimiko through the maze of hallways, he was trying to piece his thoughts together. Something was nagging at him. Turtle boy. Mikey. That's right. When he'd come here he had been following the girl who'd mentioned the name of Donnie and Raph's missing brother…who was supposed to be in Japan. How the hell had he gotten to Japan? They'd been in New York a few minutes ago.

"Wait!" They all stopped and turned as the fox woman called out.

"What is it?" The turtle man's response was way less gruff and impatient than Carter would have guessed, based on their extremely brief acquaintance.

"Candy says we need to all meet back at the transport. Now."

"What? But Mikey…"

"She says it's handled and is arranging transport to EDF headquarters. We need to move now." EDF headquarters? Oh lord what had he gotten himself into?


	63. Chapter 62: Defiant V

**Defiant V:**

Careless! The portal hadn't gotten her nearly as close as she would have liked. Still she hit the ground running. As she sprinted, she extended her power to flick through the recent history of this place until she got lucky at an intersection where Mikey had been wheeled in earlier in the day. Latching onto it, she followed the sequence of events, where, if nothing else had occurred in the interim, her favorite turtle ought to be.

Without slowing, she darted through the gaping hole that had once been a door. But that sight that met her eyes hit her like a gut punch. It was so much worse in person. On some level, she was aware that some of the Mutanimals were present, but couldn't really spare a thought for them. Everything was taken up by Mikey or what remained of him. Somehow she found her voice.

"Mikey!"

The more crowded side was closer and so she shoved between Leatherhead and Mondo Gecko to get to his side, her legs giving out on arrival as she latched onto him. Despite his condition, he managed a weak smile at the sight of her.

"Missed you honey. Everything's gonna be ok."

Despite everything, she couldn't help but smile at his absurd nickname for her. She'd never really considered herself sweet, but she loved that he thought so. And then his eyelids drooped shut and the light within her snuffed out with his absence.

"Mikey?"

Trembling, she laid her head against his chest and was reassured by the familiar rise and fall of his breathing and the gentle thud of his heartbeat. At that moment, she recalled the presence of the Mutanimals. As much as LH and Mondo were beloved friends, there was only one she could look to for help in this situation.

"Doc?"

He didn't respond at first, concentrating very hard on the terminal in front of him. Except that she knew him well enough to realize that such a level of concentration was not normal for him while working. Nothing ever got his full focus. While Don seemed to get lost in the world of his mind while on a project, Rockwell had always appeared hyperaware of his surroundings as though each unrelated detail offered a kind of inspiration to him. Which meant that he was intentionally avoiding answering her. Despite her best efforts, she couldn't come up with a reason for him doing so that didn't carry devastating implications. But she had to know.

"Doc, what's wrong with him?" Noting that she sounded a lot like Lord S, she knew that the tone of her voice implied that her question was not a request. Rockwell flinched and sighed.

"It would seem that over ninety percent of his mutagen has been systematically extracted, along with the vital cellular structures to which it was bonded."

She swallowed hard as her throat ran dry, trying to stop her mind from running to conclusions for what that gibberish might imply. But she couldn't help getting that something vital had been taken.

"And that means?" Rockwell's shoulders slumped and he looked away.

"I'm sorry Renet. He's dying."

She froze like a deer in headlights as her brain rejected the thought. Beside her Leatherhead roared and turned, punching through the nearest wall. Mondo staggered back a few feet, shaking his head.

"No Doc. That can't…there's gotta be something."

That's right. She'd faced the impossible with Mikey and his brothers many times before and had always won. No way was she giving up that easy. Grabbing hard onto her anger to give her strength, she forced herself back to her feet.

The obvious solution was to violate her oath and meddle with time, but the consequences of choice for all the people Mikey and his brothers fought to protect would be unthinkable. He wouldn't thank her for risking the unraveling of time and space. It would be a selfish act, to assuage only her own suffering. But perhaps there was another, more simple solution.

"If this place took something from him, why can't we take it back?" Rockwell shook his head sadly.

"They've already combined it with something that would irreparably taint it. I don't have the complete details yet, but it would seem they wanted to produce customized mutagen. Attempting to return it to him would transform him into…well something that wouldn't be him anymore." Mondo crossed his arms defiantly.

"Well, if he needs more mutagen, he can have mine!" Leatherhead stopped punching the wall into oblivion and spun back towards them.

"And mine!" Rockwell bowed his head.

"I would offer too, but…even with the elaborate processing that would be necessary to undo the damage, we aren't compatible."

Compatible? Yes, Rockwell, Mondo and LH were very different from him. But Mikey was one of a set of quadruplets. Fraternal, not identical, but still, that was a close as it got to a match in the mutant world.

"What about his brothers? Would they be compatible?" Rockwell perked up for a moment as he considered it, but soon returned to his dejection.

"Yes, probably, but right now they are on the other side of the world and even if they weren't, it would still take some time to design and implement a workable method for effecting the transference…even with Donatello's help." He all but bit that last part out, putting Mikey's situation ahead of his own jealousy. Renet smiled.

"But it could be done."

"Yes! But he doesn't have that long." She ran her hand gently over the top of his head as hope suffused her being.

"He'll have all the time he needs. Do you what need to do. I'll be watching."

Before anymore argument could be made, she reached out and wrapped her arms around Mikey, willing the surface of the table into a time portal for both of them to fall through. Whatever time Mikey had slipping away paused the instant they landed in Null-Time. He wouldn't get any better, but he wouldn't get any worse either.

Gathering him up into her arms, she held him closely against her chest and opened a window to monitor Rockwell's progress. Whenever he was ready, she'd return with Mikey. Brushing her lips gently across his forehead, she spoke, hoping that he could hear and understand her.

"You're right Mikey. Everything's gonna be ok."


	64. Chapter 63: Players and Pawns III

**Players and Pawns III:**

Eric Sack's gaped in disbelief as he stared around his old office. How could this be? His building should still be sealed up while under investigation. How did he even get here? The last thing he remembered was going to bed. Oh, right. This was a dream. Still, it was quite vivid and he was unusually lucid for a dream.

The amulet at his neck heated up and the door to his office opened. He couldn't help, involuntarily jerking back at the sight of what entered. It was a bald man with salmon pink skin, wearing a business suit. Tiny bone-white horns protruded from his forehead, like you might see on a young steer. His eyes were bright red and seemed to burn into Eric.

"Your mind has produced quite an interesting incarnation for my appearance. I must say I like it." The demonic being eased himself into the seat across from Eric's desk and produced a cigar lit cigar out of thin air. He took a long puff on it before continuing.

"I'm glad you showed some interest in my offer Dr. Sacks." How did this thing know his name?

"Offer?" The amulet heated up again as though answering his question.

"What are you?" He almost wished that he hadn't asked when the caricature of a man smiled at him, making his skin crawl.

"All you need know is that I'm powerful. You may call me Mr. Null if that helps any." Eric plopped down numbly into his own chair. It was a dream. Just a dream. He kept reminding himself, like chanting a mantra.

"Dr. Sack's I have a proposition for you." No. This was bad. Deals with demons never, ever ended well in film and literature.

"Unless you enjoy being Winters's little pet. Then by all means, I can take my business elsewhere." The demon had hit a nerve. It couldn't hurt to hear him out.

"Wait." There was that creepy smile again.

"Ah, so you aren't content with your lot then."

"No." He practically ground his teeth as he spoke, but what point was there in lying?

"Well, Winters happens to be an adversary of mine. I guess you could say that we have a history. If you don't mind seeing him and his empire fall, hard, I could use a spy, an agent to work against him on my behalf until I'm ready to strike." Eric couldn't deny that they thought pleased him immensely. But that wasn't enough.

"And of course I wouldn't expect your services for free. As I mentioned, I'm quite powerful. I can give you anything you desire in exchange. Wealth, power, prestige, vengeance. Name it and it's yours."

He could take the safe route and back off, living the rest of his life in boring ignominy. Or he could take a risk and gain back all he'd lost and more. Eric had always been of the great risk, great reward school of thought and there seemed to be no downside here.

"I want it." Mr. Null raised his eyebrows.

"Which?"

"All of it. I want all of it." The demon grinned at him, setting off warning bells that he promptly ignored. No risk. No reward.

"Done. Good doing business with you Dr. Sacks."

Mr. Null reached out his hand and against his better judgement Eric took it. And screamed as pain and fire lanced through his body as the demon branded his soul.


	65. Chapter 64: Fierce IV

**Fierce IV:**

Raph tapped his foot, growing increasingly impatient with each passing moment as Donnie fiddled with some device that looked like it had been Frankensteined from a food processor into a video game controller, which, for all he knew, it had been. They needed to get to the EDF facility and stopping in the middle of nowhere so that Donnie could play with his toys was not his idea of getting things done.

"What are you doing Donnie? The rest of us would really like to get this mission started." Donnie looked up from the tablet that he'd plugged into his contraption and gave a Raph a smug grin that made him sigh internally. Whatever his brother was about to say was going to make Raph want to punch him, but he wouldn't be able to because, as always, Donnie would be right.

"The mission is starting Raph."

Yup. He definitely wanted to punch him, but there was too much at stake to indulge that desire. Without Leo, he needed to be responsible. Swallowing his irritation, he was proud of how level his voice sounded when he responded.

"How so? The complex is at least a mile away."

Donnie's grin widened. "We can't just go through the perimeter without being detected."

Raph raised an eye ridge questioningly. "Perimeter? What are you talking about? There's no fence or buildings here."

Donnie snorted derisively and Raph nearly lost the tenuous hold he had over his self-control.

Fortunately, Sensei intervened. "Perhaps you could explain as you work, my son." Donnie immediately lost the smug smirk and ducked his head a little in embarrassment as he remembered that it wasn't just him and Raph.

"Of course Sensei. This is their headquarters, not an outpost in the middle of a combat zone, so there aren't really any perimeter walls that would detract from its administrative appearance. Besides they wouldn't really be a deterrent for anyone that represented an actual threat to compound."

Raph had to concede that point. Any walls would have been a mere warm up for their group.

"But they do have a lot of security cameras and sensors set in a large radius around the facility to detect potential intruders. We're just outside the range of detection but close enough for me to link in. Once their security is blind to us, we can off road it to the location I marked on everyone's maps at the south side of the facility to infiltrate. As far as I can tell, that should be closest to the R&D wing, the most likely location to hold Leo and Miwa. All I have to do is…"

Raph held up his hands defensively. "Don't explain it. Just do it. You can gloat about it in detail at the victory party after we've succeeded."

Donnie clamped his mouth shut and focused his attention back on his tablet. Raph looked up at the others. Everyone already had a general understanding the plan, but he had yet to assign specific roles. And it wouldn't hurt to review.

"We do this in three teams. Teams one and two will be breaking into the facility, coming at the lab from the east and west respectively. Donnie has programmed the routes for each team into your forearm computers, so there should be no excuses for getting lost."

He gestured towards what looked like a steel gauntlet wrapped around his forearm. They each wore one, expect for Joi's three unexpected friends. That's what you get for not RSVPing to the top secret rescue mission. The top panel flipped up into a small computer screen and Donnie had preloaded each with all the information they'd need to complete the mission. If he wasn't so annoyed with his brilliant younger brother, he'd be impressed with how quickly the genius had thrown all this together.

"Team three is back up and will wait with the vehicles unless called in for support. If everything goes well, team three won't be needed." Fat chance of that.

"I will lead team one which will include Mona, Venus, Donnie and April. Sensei will lead team two which will consist of Casey, Angel and Alopex. Joi and the other Tribunals, you're on team three under Aunt Amaya's leadership." He made a point of ignoring Joi's pouting at the assignment and his father and aunt's subtle smiles of parental amusement.

"Everyone know your roles?" Unanimous nodding answered, although Donnie's was more of an automatic, conditioned response. But if Donnie didn't know his job, they were all screwed anyway, so he would take that as a yes.

"Good. April link us up." At least they had the most secure team communication network ever, although Donnie always had tech back up just in case.

Venus stepped up and took April's hand, her eyes glowing blue as he felt her power charge the air around them, not unlike the sensation just before a lightning strike. The glow faded from Venus's eyes and briefly lit April's a second before he felt the mental connection snap into place, causing him to cringe a little, a reaction he had every single time.

He knew that April's control only allowed them to hear thoughts sent with intention, lest they all be drowned in mental chatter as had been the case the first time she'd tried it, but it always evoked memories of when the Shredder had forced a mind control worm into him. The sense of violation had never really faded. He liked his mind to be completely his own, but the system was too useful to not take advantage of it.

Donnie looked up triumphantly from his tablet. "We're in."

Raph smiled, feeling the familiar eager anticipation that engulfed him at the start of any dangerous mission.

"Let's get this done then. Teams, move out."


	66. Chapter 65: Balanced V

**Balanced V:**

Donnie typed into his forearm computer counting on Raph, Mona, April and Venus, surrounding him on four sides, to keep him colliding with anything as they navigated the labyrinth of hallways and floors that was the massive EDF headquarters, even restricted to the R&D wing.

Dependent on technology, no one had noticed their breach of the facility under cover of darkness. Once inside, he'd quickly negotiated the computer system he'd infiltrated to confirm that Leo and Miwa were indeed being held in the lab here and had narrowed it down to a specific floor and room. Now he was plugged into the security system and electronically observing the movements of the facility's patrols.

April, a semi-constant and comforting echo in his head, kept everyone filled in on each whispered update and, if they so chose, all information he accessed on his computer was automatically pushed out to all the others to look up on their own.

That wasn't happening on his team. Everyone was content to let him handle the tech and direct them through the maze, telling them when to halt, hide or push ahead in haste. They were almost to the lab. The mission was progressing with unprecedented smoothness.

He could have smacked himself the moment the thought flitted unbidden through his head. Right on cue, an alert popped up on his computer. He opened it and almost swore out loud. He'd been detected in the system. Any minute now they were going to…

Lights flashed red all around him as the alarms began to sound.

* * *

They were running through the building in formation with Raphael in the lead, April to the left, her to the right and Mona Lisa protecting the rear. Donatello ran in the center, with his face almost buried into the screen on his forearm whilst tapping at the small keys with a dexterity that never ceased to amaze her given the size and limited number of his fingers.

At least now that they'd gotten started, Raphael was no longer making all of them uncomfortable with the appreciative glances he kept giving Mona Lisa, which were not as discrete as he thought. They were all very aware that he found her attractive when dressed for combat, information she was certain the rest of them could do without.

Personally, she didn't see what the fuss was about. Even though she was a mutant now, Mona Lisa still dressed as though she were human, insomuch as such a thing was possible. And based on Venus's experience with American media, combat boots, a cargo skirt and a tank top, all in various shades of black were not typical examples of beautification.

Bowing to the needs of practicality, she'd even pulled her hair back into a ponytail and Venus had inadvertently encountered them in enough awkward moments to know that Raphael preferred her hair down. More information that she could do without.

Maybe it was the guns. Loaded down with several sets of firearms, custom made for her by Donnie along with equally customized ammunition clips, she had handguns in holsters across her back and hips and in her boots along with a larger rifle strapped across her back. The pockets of her skirt bulged with clips for her weapons. She vaguely reminded Venus of some of the characters on the boxes of the video games Raphael enjoyed so much. Perhaps that was the appeal.

Although she could see the advantage of having pockets, covered as completely in her scales as Venus was in her shell, Mona Lisa didn't really need clothing. Not the way humans, like April, did.

She glanced over at her human sister. For the mission, April had geared up in a black jumpsuit and face mask, covering her nose and mouth, made of thick, durable material with soft but sturdy boots, probably the result of Miwa's advice on kunoichi equipment. Even so, she hadn't been able to resist adding in very April-like yellow accents along the seams of her suit and the vaguely gold tinted plates of metal armor on her torso, protecting her vital organs. Well, it was stealthy enough if she was careful.

Venus returned her attention to Donatello who was now muttering something about getting close and she could hear April's update reverberate through her mind. They would need to work on selective sending under duress next time she trained with her.

Then Donatello's eyes widened and his face went rigid with dismay. Something was amiss. Before she could ask, the fluorescent hallway lighting vanished, replaced by pulsating red lights from the edges of the ceiling. She cringed as the alarms blared from seemingly every direction, deafening what had been a relatively soundless journey for them.

Furious, Raph spun to face his distraught brother. "What the shell Donnie?"

Donatello was just shaking his head in disbelief. "They found me in their system. They know we're here. Troops are converging on our position from behind. Raph we can't make it to the lab before they get to us."

That was bad. If they got caught in a fight, the scientists would have time to relocate or kill Leonardo and Miwa. They already had too much advance warning with the alarms sounding.

But there was a solution. As leader, Raphael was essential. Donatello's technical knowledge would be the key to freeing their relatives, not to mention assessing their medical condition. And as their psychic communication link, April wasn't expendable either. That left Mona Lisa and her.

"Mona Lisa and I will hold them off. The rest of you keep going forward. It's the only way."

Donatello seemed momentarily stricken at her words, but quickly calculated the odds of her plan's success, acquiescing with a confident nod. She cherished the trust he had in her. Raphael, on the other hand, looked like he was about to tear into her as he shot her idea down, but Mona Lisa intervened. "Venus is right. It's ok Raph. We got this. Go save Leo and Miwa." He hesitated for a second before conceding with a grudging nod.

She and Mona Lisa turned back as he led the team onward. Venus glanced over at her sister. "Are you ready." Mona Lisa smirked in response. "Like I said. We got this."

Reassured, Venus called on her power, sensing the soldiers' approach while Mona Lisa drew the two handguns from her back holster, jamming clips into each with well-practiced ease and chambering her first rounds. Venus was curious which ammunition she'd chosen to use, but knew that Mona Lisa had enough training and experience by this point that she could rely on her sister's judgment.

As the troops rounded the corner and paused to level their weapons at them, Venus unleashed a force wave of concussive sound in their direction, while shattering a smoke pellet at their feet. The first row of soldiers flew back into their comrades. She redirected her power to her eyes to see through the smoke, knowing that she'd have to curtail larger uses of her abilities if she wanted to last through this fight, let alone the mission.

Fortunately, Mona Lisa stepped up. Apparently she'd chosen the flashbang bullets for one gun and electric stun charges for the other. Taking advantage of the chaos these projectiles caused among their enemies, Venus charged in, breaking guns with her butterfly swords and disabling men with kicks, elbows and pommel strikes to vitals and pressure points.

They couldn't see her in the smoke and couldn't risk wild firing with her in their midst, lest they lose comrades to their own attacks. But for the same reason, Mona Lisa had to stop her barrage, except when Venus launched an enemy outside of the smoke cloud with a well-placed strike.

As the cloud began to dissipate, she dove and rolled back in Mona Lisa's direction, just in time to see her sister, snap her computer shut. Good, they had a route. Mona Lisa launched one more flash bang into the crowd of enemies to cover them as she led Venus away from the lab and their enemies on the chase of their lives. Venus couldn't help but smile as Mona Lisa's voice rang out. "Catch us if you can."


	67. Chapter 66: Yin and Yang IV

**Yin and Yang IV:**

April glanced back at Mona and Venus as she followed Raph and Donnie towards the lab. While unable to completely squelch the pang of concern she experienced over leaving them, she had to trust in the abilities to do this if Raph and Donnie had. They had a job to do and so did she and failing to focus would be betray the trust they'd placed in her when taking on that risk.

Schooling her breathing as Master Splinter had taught her, she let the worry flow out of her and fixated herself completely in the moment. Having regained her self-mastery, she concentrated and sent out a burst to everyone except Mona and Venus, taking great effort not to distract them. She really needed to work on selective messaging when they got out of this. _"The alarms are for us. We've been discovered. Prioritize speed over stealth and bring on the backup."_

"We're here." Donnie's voice broke through her concentration just in time for to see Raph coiling his leg to kick open the door.

"Raph don't!" Raph paused and glared at Donnie who'd caught him by the shoulder. "It's reinforced steel. The only thing that will break is your leg. If you give me a minute, I'll hack the lock with…"

Before he could finish, Raph rammed one of his sais into the card reader and keypad and she could hear the tumblers release as the electronic lock died. "Or you could do it your way."

Raph didn't deign to acknowledge that as he opened the door and barreled through. April patted Donnie's shell and quirked the corner of her mouth up in a supportive almost-grin before following Raph's lead.

The lab was enormous. The far side contained a series of glass cells, two of which held Leo and Miwa. Miwa's smirk and Leo's relieved smile told her that they'd suspected as much, probably the moment the alarms went off.

The room was full of different sections of organized equipment, desks, computer consoles and offices. She recognized Stockman's horror-movie visage as he ducked under one of the desks at the sight of them. Near him stood a stunned Native American woman beside an equally shocked red haired man, both in lab coats.

The woman recovered first, but seemed gripped by indecision while the man rushed off towards one of the offices. Raph was already at Leo's cell trying to determine how he could bust through the thick glass, while Donnie was searching among the computer terminals for the appropriate controls. She was the only one available and she was still too far away. But she had to try.

Unleashing her muscles in a burst of speed, she charged after him, closing the distance. Until he pressed something on his belt and the area effect, sonic pulse he released hit her like a kick to the head. She stumbled, fell and caught herself in a forward somersault. By the time she was able to shake it off, the man was already sealed in his office as glassy and reinforced as the prisoner cells, typing furiously into some electronic device.

Then a nearby door opened, reminding her of the spaceship airlocks that seemed to populate sci-fi movies. Through it stepped Fishface and Rahzar and she gasped as memories of her early confrontations with the Shredder's original henchmen came rushing back to her. Well this would certainly complicate things.

"Donnie, get Leo and Miwa out. April and I will buy you the time." She involuntarily turned her head at the sound of Raph's voice in time to see him charging in towards the duo. Well she wasn't about to let him take them alone.

Raph hit Fishface first, dodging the rapid strikes and spins of the robotic legs, but unable to breach Fishface's defenses to land a strike of his own. Meanwhile, Rahzar was moving in to take out Raph from behind.

She slipped her tessen out of its sheath and fanned it open as she whipped it out towards the nightmarish, mutant canine. He sensed it coming an instant before it would have hit him in the head, batting it aside with his unnaturally long talons. She dove and rolled to her right, catching up her skidding tessen as she did so and stopping on her feet, ready to continue the battle.

Rahzar's eyes narrowed on her, Raph forgotten, as he zeroed in on his new target. This would be so much easier if she could hit him with a psychic blast, but she couldn't manage it without severing the communication link between all her teammates. This would have to be a physical battle, putting her at a disadvantage. Unless she outwitted him. There was more than one way to fight with your mind. Recalling her surroundings, she quickly formed a plan as he charged her.

His claws tore into the ground where she'd just been standing a second ago. Relying on her rapid footwork training, she kept just ahead of his deadly swipes and kicks, until the inevitable. A fraction of a second too slow, his enormous foot connected with her ribcage throwing her back against the wall hard enough to force all the air out of her lungs.

As she struggled frantically to breathe, hoping that her ribs were only bruised, not cracked, from the strike, painful despite her armor, she heard Rahzar chuckle as he approached, savoring his victory.

Backed into a corner of electronic equipment, she had nowhere else to go and he was almost on her, gloating before landing the final strike. She lashed out with her tessen and he tilted his head slightly, allowing it to fly harmlessly past him and embed into the machine in the wall behind him.

"I'm gonna enjoy this." His voice sounded as gravelly as ever as he raised a clawed had to impale her, being more dramatic than efficient, the Shredder's influence perhaps.

Withdrawing her hand from one of the pouches under her arms, she flung a handful of caltrops into his face. He howled and tried to swipe them away as he staggered back, ever so slightly off balance. Perfect.

She launched herself towards him, shoulder checking him backwards. It didn't do much as she bounced off of his painfully hard muscle and bone, given the enormous difference in their sizes. But she didn't need it to.

The instant his back was impaled on the corner of her tessen, the power line she'd thrown it into transferred its load into his body. He screamed and convulsed in a fountain of sparks until the unit overloaded and fizzled, leaving Rahzar to collapse into a smoking heap that smelled of burnt hair and charred flesh. Gripping her aching ribs, she struggled to her feet, barely able to move with the pain. What use would she be now?

* * *

Casey surged through the hallways after his teammates, keeping up only because of his skates. He could kind of understand why Master Splinter and Alopex were so speedy, but since when could Angel move so fast?

He'd started out minding Donnie's map, but eventually gave up. It seemed that Master Splinter had memorized the route in advance and had a preternatural sense of when guards were about. Most they avoided, but a handful didn't even know what hit them as the ninja master took them down.

He'd be lying if he said that Master Splinter didn't unnerve him, even after all this time. Sadly, it wasn't the inhuman and deadly precision with which he fought. Nope. Despite the green cane and dark red robe, he was still an enormous rat.

While proud that he no longer flinched at the sight of him or screamed when Master Splinter would suddenly appear at his side, he still felt that shudder of fear and revulsion every time he was in the man's presence. Stupid phobia. Maybe he should ask April if she could psychic power away the irrational fear. April. She was looking good in her ninja gear. He couldn't deny that. It fit her like a glove. Too bad he hadn't been able to convince to wear it casually.

Flicking his eyes back front again, he could see Alopex in her trademark ratty, old hoody sweatshirt that he knew was full of hidden weapons. It was amazing the thing hadn't disintegrated by now, but she'd never been interested in replacing it. Still being more animal than person, she'd never taken to wearing clothes and only bothered with the hoody for its usefulness.

Beside Alopex charged Angel. Like him, they'd kept to their classic vigilante gear, that had hinted more at streetfighter than ninja. It was fine with him. Despite Shad's defection to ninjutsu, he considered that his family style.

Alarms blared and the hallway started flashing red, like a slow strobe light. His mask hid a slow smile creeping up his painted face. It looked like things were finally going to get interesting.

"Push forward. The lab is at the end of this hallway."

At Master Splinter's command, Casey kicked his speed into high gear and breezed past Angel and Alopex to meet him at the door, which he stared at in vexation as it was clearly beyond even his ability to force his way through.

Master Splinter was examining the hallway for alternate ways in, when Casey pulled a connection cable out of his forearm computer and plugged it into the lock, starting up one of Donnie's preloaded programs for security breaking. He, April and Donnie were probably the only ones fully aware of what the new team computers were capable of.

 _"_ _The alarms are for us. We've been discovered. Prioritize speed over stealth and bring on the backup."_ Red's voice sounded in his mind, relieving him of any worry that she might have been captured. Master Splinter's ears twitched and he spun to face the way they'd come.

"Guards approach."

Just then, the program finished and the lock released with a beep of acceptance. "Go on. Rescue Leo and Miwa. I can keep these guys busy." Master Splinter gave him a grateful nod and pushed through the door followed closely by Alopex and Angel who gave him a snort of approval. Always nice to make your sister proud.

As the door shut behind them, he pressed a few buttons to send a charge into the lock and it sizzled and fried as the door sealed behind them. There would be no interruptions from this direction.

He could hear the footsteps of the approaching guards now. They were just around the corner. With a grin, he emptied a set of ball bearings outward onto the floor, splaying them across the passage by the corner, watching the first line of soldiers flail and fall, taking many of their comrades down with them. With his rollerblades, he had no concerns about getting caught in his own trap.

Taking advantage of the confusion, he grabbed two cans of spray paint from the sides of his weapons bag, snapping the tops off and throwing them into the crowd. The thrashing as more fell on the ball bearings while trying to escape his chemical attack, bought him the time necessary to draw his hockey stick and drop some pucks.

The heft of the metal stick felt good in his hands. He and Donnie had come to the realization years ago that having their primary weapon constantly break sucked hard, so D had custom built them titanium versions that functioned more or less like the originals. And although he still preferred the classic puck and his own modifications, he had a few unique builds that Don had given him over the years, because he couldn't help making things when the idea struck him. One of which Casey was using now.

He activated it with a tap of his stick before launching it into the mob and following it up with a cluster of rapid fire shots full of normal pucks. The custom puck exploded with enough concussive force to knock over most of the remaining guards while landed headshots of the other pucks put several soldiers down for the count. With the odds evened and his opponents in disarray, Casey skated into the fray.

"Goongala!"


	68. Chapter 67: At Any Cost II

**At Any Cost II:**

Bishop leaned over his desk, steepling his fingers as the silence grew. Agent Oroku had finished his status update a few minutes ago and he hadn't said a word. However, Oroku was not unnerved. He had to admit that he admired the man's unshakable demeanor even as it irritated him.

Things were progressing nicely though. Upon hiring him, he'd ordered Oroku to inventory the state of his troops and offer suggestions for improvement. Which had resulted in a complete military reorganization and new, varied training plan. A full seventy percent of their force had already been converted and the soldiers here would be shipped out for retraining and reassignment next week bringing the total to seventy-five percent.

Oroku was a brilliant strategist, but Bishop had been careful to keep him isolated. The man was far from trustworthy and had a dangerous charisma about him that made him way too damn influential. But knowing that Oroku was a double edged sword did not deter him. He was an old friend of peril and no rewards were ever obtained without risk.

Bishop leaned back in his chair, ready to give a much less impressed assessment than he actually felt, when the alarms began to blare. The facility was being invaded. His facility. Furious, he tapped the button connecting him to security almost hard enough to break it. His uncharacteristic lack of control over his strength only served to irk him further. The face of a profusely nervous man filled the screen.

"Report."

"Sir, there appears to be an infiltration of our security systems."

"And?"

"We still haven't sorted it out yet. We know there is an enemy agent or agents in the building."

"Where?"

"Well we haven't been able to…"

"Enough! Fix it and isolate them."

The man paled as he ended the call. Without specific directives, the bulk of the soldiers would automatically defend the lab. While protecting that lab was essential, it did open other holes in their security that a clever enemy could take advantage of. Time to call in more competent assistance.

He sent out two rapid texts and was pleased with the affirmative that the Lotus Blossom sent back and almost apoplectic over Savage's refusal. Of course it would be his actual employee that would spurn him. He immediately called the man.

"Director Bishop?"

"Care to explain?"

"I told you not to abduct those mutants. Their allies are coming for them now. It's your own fault for not anticipating it."

He almost snapped his phone as his hand involuntarily clenched. "You would side with the enemy. Are you aiding them?"

Savage let out a dry, quiet laugh. "No. But I won't help you stop them either." Then he hung up and Bishop barely resisted the urge to fling his phone into the wall.

Taking a deep calming breath, he pushed himself to his feet. "Follow me." Oroku raised an eye questioningly. "We need to get to the lab."


	69. Chapter 68: Maturity VI

**Maturity VI:**

Raven tapped her keyboard, knowing that her charade of working wasn't convincing, not even to herself. But it gave her excuse to be in the lab when she really should have been in the training center working out. It was one of the rare occasions that the Lotus Blossom was actually spending extra time here and she should be taking advantage of that to improve her combat skills and focus her energy abilities. And yet here she was, pretending that she needed to watch the computer run her analysis while casting discrete glances towards Leo, who knelt calmly in his cell, a demeanor she admired even if she couldn't fully understand it.

She couldn't stop thinking about his words. She had joined the EDF in an attempt to become a better person than the one she'd been. But Leo was right. Did that truly make sense if the EDF was commanding her to act against her conscience? She didn't think that holding Leo here was wrong. She knew it. So if she wanted to be good, better, she ought to free him.

But what would she do with the rest of her life if she burnt bridges with the EDF? It wasn't selfishness that posed the question, at least not entirely. The EDF enabled her to use her powers for good. There were opportunities here, to help the world, that she would find nowhere else. Should she allow one evil in order to prevent others? There were no answers for her. Not yet, anyway. And none in sight as far as she could tell.

The alarms shattered her thoughts like a rock through a window. She instinctively shot to her feet and looked around before mentally smacking herself. Here in the lab, they were in the heart of EDF security. There was no way, the problem was here.

Annoyed with herself, she didn't bother to sit back down as she returned to her computer terminal. From there it was possible to just pull up the alert and see what was going on and whether or not she'd be needed to deal with whatever it was.

She gasped as the alert came up as infiltration. Infiltration in the lab wing. And it was only a detection of a security system breach that was sourced somewhere here. They didn't currently have enough control over their own system to track the assailants. All security could do was send forces to defend the lab, the most important location in the facility. At least she was where she needed to be.

But how could this have happened? The EDF was the most secure institution in the world. A glance at Dr. Chaplin told her that he was nervous, but trying to convince himself otherwise, no doubt using the same logic that had inspired her disbelief.

The door to her left burst open. She prepared herself to attack, but froze with indecision the moment she saw them. There was a red haired human woman, dressed like she was playing a ninja at a cosplay convention. But she wasn't the focal point of Raven's attention. Her two companions were turtle people. Like her target in China. Like Leo. They must be his family, come to rescue him. How could she stop them when Leo deserved to be free?

One turtle, wearing a mask similar to Leo's, except purple, dashed over to a computer terminal. The other one, in the red mask, unsurprisingly rushed to Leo's cell, seeking a way to free his imprisoned kin. What should she do?

Behind her she could almost feel Dr. Chaplin's panicked paralysis break and the ninja girl chased him as he bee lined for his office. She would have had him too if he hadn't had the presence of mind to blast a sonic pulse from Lillja's most recent toy, attached to his belt. The cantankerous old codger might finally get the recognition he was so desperately seeking for that stroke of good luck.

Her computer beeped as Dr. Chaplin reported what was going on from within the safety of his nearly indestructible office. The door near his office opened and she shuddered involuntarily. Of course those two had to have been the closest. Of all the captured mutants that the EDF had 'recruited,' only Dr. Stockman creeped her out more. The wolf looked like an enormous, skeletal zombie-parody of his animal. And the fish with robot legs always appeared as a sci-fi nightmare.

"Donnie, get Leo and Miwa out. April and I will buy you the time." The red turtle called out as he ran to battle the new arrivals. Miwa? Hadn't Leo called the snake girl Karai? Was there someone else? Why was she wasting time wondering about this? She needed to do…something.

The door on the opposite side of the room opened and three more assailants appeared before the door sealed behind them. One was another human girl, dressed in jeans, sturdy black boots and a matching tank top. Her long black hair hung, rather impractically, down her back with purple streaks framing her face that matched the black and purple cloth sleeves that she wore over her forearms.

For the first time, Raven noticed that each intruder wore some kind of steel gauntlet on their left arms, just above the wrist. It couldn't be coincidence.

Next to the stick wielding human girl was a white mutant fox in a ragged, grey hoody with purple markings over her face that vaguely reminded Raven of a raccoon mask. The last arrival was a large mutant rat in a pink robe, wielding a green cane.

As comical as that rat should have appeared, his presence was such that she almost staggered back away from him. Whoever this rat was, he was a force to be reckoned with and even if she weren't so conflicted, she would not be eager to engage.

It had barely been a second or two since the door sealed behind the three, but two more doors at the corners on either side of them now opened. She wasn't surprised to see the weird techno-warthog and Russian rhino enter through one. It seemed the alert was calling in all their mutant forces.

On the other hand, seeing Director Bishop with Agent Oroku at his side, entering from the other door, stunned her. They rarely saw to things personally and almost never together. What was going on? Before she could decide who, if anyone, to assist, her choice was taken from her.

Her head snapped upwards to the ceiling tiles falling in above her. Through the newly produced hole dropped a blonde woman and the Asian man who'd interfered with her mission. As they were almost directly overhead and about to land on her, she lashed out before she could even think about it.

The blonde woman, twisted away from her kick with speed she was only able to attain when drawing on her power. Her palm strike landed on the man, although he was already, flinging himself out of the way and so it was not nearly as effective as it should have been.

Having instinctively initiated a battle she wasn't sure she wanted, she found herself committed to it as her two opponents now circled around her. Well, if it was a fight they wanted, it was a fight they would get. Summoning the energy, she wasn't going to hold anything back.


	70. Chapter 69: Guardians IV

**Guardians IV:**

Faraji resisted the urge to pace as they hid in the shadows near the entry point used by teams one and two. He'd rather be inside fighting, particularly after learning that his recruits were the ones being rescued, but knew that he had yet to do anything to earn the trust of these new allies. He should count himself fortunate to be included in the mission at all. Although, with such a daunting task, they couldn't afford to be picky about accepting help.

Still, the waiting chafed at him. While the others had gone in, he'd sought to district himself by trying to figure out Amaya. Right now, she leaned calmly against the side of the building, the soul of patience.

Her outfit was a hybrid of modern black ops and historical ninja style. It was close fitting and covered in utility pouches. The only weapons that he could identify for certain, were a short sword on her back, a pistol with silencer at her hip and some kind of odd chain whip at her waist.

He had yet to see her in action, but believed her to be a formidable warrior. However, he was good a reading people and suspected a lack of commitment to a life of battle in her. If not for her kidnapped family members she would not be here. And thus she was not a very good candidate for recruitment. He got the same impression from the rat man.

His ruminations were interrupted by the blaring of alarms. That was not good for their other teams. But they hadn't been contacted to provide support. He wanted to charge in, signal or no, but it wasn't his call. It was hers.

Amaya straightened. "We're going in."

He couldn't help smiling a little. The waiting was finally over. She slipped silently in the door that the purple turtle, Donatello, had opened for them at the start of the mission. Whatever he'd done must have permanently disabled the lock, since he assumed that, under normal circumstances, the lock would have sealed the door the moment the alarms went off.

He'd utilized his time waiting to memorize the fastest route to the lab, but thus far it wasn't necessary. Amaya seemed to know exactly where she was going. So far. It had barely been a second or two since they'd entered.

Their group hit a T-intersection and started to turn right, when Amaya halted and spun around. At the other end of the hallway stood an Indian woman in dark combat gear, heavily armed and not the least bit intimidated at being outnumbered. He couldn't believe that he hadn't sensed her. Who was this woman? And why was she so focused on Amaya?

"Headhunter. I did not expect to encounter you here."

Before anyone could respond, the voice of the human mystic, April, invaded his mind. _"The alarms are for us. We've been discovered. Prioritize speed over stealth and bring on the backup."_ He cringed, hating the sensation of a shared mind.

Amaya cast a glance back towards him. "I'll handle this. Keep going." He nodded, sharing her urgency, as leadership transferred back to him.

"This way." His teammates fell into step behind him.

"Joi, pick up our pace." His skin tingled as her power extended out to him and the hallways became a blur around him.

They were almost to the lab, when he discovered an instant too late that the floor was a sheet of ice. How? Despite the skidding, he managed to jump off the slick surface enough to hit the wall at the end of the hallway feet first absorbing his momentum and pushing off into a forward flip over his sliding comrades. Now that he anticipated the surface, he was able to keep his footing in the landing.

As he scanned for the source of the disturbance, he checked on his comrades. Adam was currently shaking off bits of dry wall as he pulled free of the ruined wall, releasing Joi and Tora whom he had apparently grabbed and shielded with his body.

The smile that had been forming at Adam's quick thinking, reverted into a frown as he caught sight of a very familiar tiger mutant stepping menacingly around the far corner. Based on the blue glow from the mouth of the mutant's blaster, he now had a good idea of where the ice might have come from. As much as he desired to avenge himself against the treacherous cat man, there was more at stake than his pride.

"Adam, you're with me. Joi and Tora, get to the lab."

With a shrug, Joi took off and Tora scrambled after her, lest she leave him in her dust. Adam caught his expression and knew what he was thinking. As Faraji drew his sword to meet the approaching tiger, Adam moved to get behind him.

Their opponent read Adam's intent and attacked, firing the blue tinged ice gun at him, while saving a laser blast for Faraji at the same time. Adam caught the ice blast with his war hammer. Instead of dropping it as the encrusting ice rapidly grew to encase it, Adam turned it into a projectile, as only he could with such a large weapon, flinging it overhead towards the tiger who was forced on the defensive, dodging it as it shattered the wall behind him.

Fortunately, the tiger man rolled in Faraji's direction. He'd leaned aside to let the blast by, though it still seared his shoulder armor, and now charged in. His opponent caught sight of him at the last minute and leapt back, but not before Faraji hit the tips of his guns with the long reach of his two handed sword, rendering them useless.

The tiger calmly tossed the firearms aside and drew his machete as Adam, in sync with Faraji, launched himself into an attack, not giving their opponent an opportunity to recover from Faraji's assault.

Not that it mattered. The mutant was prepared and slashed his blade at Adam, who, with surprising speed for a man his size, ducked it while grabbing the assassin's furry, armored wrist and pivoted with the intent of throwing him over his shoulder and slamming him into the floor.

But the tiger anticipated the move and used the momentum of Adam's throw to take control of the motion, twisting Adam's arm and taking out his legs with a sweeping kick as he landed.

Faraji rushed in, almost landing his strike as the tiger caught his sword with his own blade. For a moment they were evenly matched. Faraji had a longer reach with his great sword, but his opponent was faster with the shorter blade.

To break the stalemate, Faraji allowed a thrust through, into his right shoulder as he cracked the tiger's forehead with a pommel strike, sending the stunned mutant straight into Adam's waiting hammer blow, as he'd used Faraji's attack as an opportunity to retrieve his weapon. The blow hit the cat's jet pack shattering it in an explosion that threw them all.

Ears ringing and right arm protesting, Faraji staggered to his feet to see the seemingly indestructible Adam do the same. The smoke cleared, revealing a smear of blood and fur on the floor between them. The battle was over, but without a body, Faraji doubted the assassin was dead. But he had no time to track him. They needed to get to the lab.

* * *

Joi enveloped them in her power, moving them with impossible speed towards the lab on the route she memorized with Faraji as he shared her gauntlet computer. They were so close. It was just through that next door.

Tora grabbed her shoulder, jerking her to a halt. She almost rounded on him with a punch, but heard the sounds of battle inside and understood. Charging in guns blazing would be idiotic and while she was fearless, she wasn't stupid. They needed eyes on the situation in order to maximize the effect of their support.

Annoyed at her own easy acquiescence, she suspected Tora might be using his teamwork specialty to make her more cooperative. He would answer for that later. For now, they needed to know what was going on and the door had no windows. She followed Tora's gaze upward and smiled. Of course.

His eyes widened momentarily as she launched herself onto his shoulders and kicked out the ceiling tile. It was a wide space to allow for the horizontal metal support beams running through the floor. She climbed out onto one as Tora hauled himself up and in behind her.

Based on her original orientation, she needed to head left. She glided along the beam on all fours until she was sure they were well into the lab. Carefully lifting the ceiling tile, she peered in to check out the scene and was so startled by what she saw that she actually dropped the tile.

The Native American scientist below her was not what she seemed at all. Joi could feel the powerful and unnatural energy emanating off of her. This was an enemy warrior and she'd noticed them. With a nod from Tora they dropped in on her.

The woman was fast. Joi barely twisted away from a kick as she landed and heard a grunt from Tora indicating that he'd taken a blow. Undaunted, for once she allowed Tora to link them so they could act as a single unit.

Despite their perfect battle synergy and Joi's enhanced speed, things were not going well. Their opponent was her equal in speed and Adam's in strength. It shouldn't have been possible.

Unarmed, the scientist caught Tora's sword barehanded and twisted it out of his grip while snapping Joi's metal staff with a well-placed kick as she attempted to get a hit in during the distraction. Joi wielded the remnants of her staff as batons while Tora drew his kamas to continue the battle.

Well if she couldn't breach the woman's offensive defense to get a hit in, she wouldn't bother trying. Charging ahead, she prepared to a body shot punch for the opportunity to crack her opponent over the head with what remained of her weapon. Joi realized two things very quickly, to her intense irritation. One, she was definitely getting hit, part of the plan, in a way that would break her collar bone, not part of the plan. Two, the scientist would be able to evade her strike anyway.

Until Tora appeared behind her, launching her upward and taking the punch himself, as a headshot, as he did so. Teamwork indeed. But the loyal fool had done it. She was in the perfect position to crack the woman across the temple with what was now a metal baton.

Before her attack connected, a wave of force pulsed out of the woman, blasting Joi back into a row of computers. Shaking off the pain and bits of electronics, she forced herself back onto her feet, in time to see the scientist standing over a still stunned Tora with his own sword help up in preparation for a finishing blow. Damn!

Acting on instinct, she called on all her speed to fly over to him, kicking him out of the way as the sword blow came down, staring up defiantly at her opponent, knowing full well the strike would hit her instead. Even with enhanced speed, there was no getting out of the way in time.

"Raven stop!" A voice called out from the detention cells and for an instant the woman's determination clouded as she redirected the sword blow into the floor beside Joi. Unexpectedly, the scientist had yielded.


	71. Chapter 70: Professional III

**Professional III:**

Aditi finished her pre-work out stretch, growing increasingly impatient with the lack of events. She'd forgotten how patient Saki was. On their one mission together, she'd been chomping at the bit to get moving, counting on her sheer skill to carry her through, but he'd been the one to insist on waiting for the exact right moment to strike. She'd learned a lot about acting as a true predator from their brief association and had applied it well since then.

But this was John Bishop and the EDF. There wouldn't be a perfect time to strike. Unless he had arranged it. That seemed like something he would do. But when? She already felt that she was stretching the plausibility of her stay. If only Raven joined her for more training sessions, she could have claimed a better pretext for remaining. But the girl was too fascinated with the turtle that Tigerclaw had captured to leave the lab. Overall, it was quite irritating.

Well, there was nothing better for working out irritation than combat training. Checking to make sure her targets and training dummies had been placed, hopefully with a more sensible pattern this time, she made her way over to the equipment bench. Unfortunately, the instructions of 'random placement' needed to be explained in detail to the training underlings. She didn't want them randomly strewn about the obstacle course, but placed in strategic and unexpected locations. Bishop should be recompensing her for improving his lower echelon help.

Sweeping her gaze over her gear, she opted for a sidearm, her saber and dagger set, and a collection of projectiles. Just the basics for this exercise. She turned to head into the training area, when the alarms blared throughout the room. Well it was about damn time.

Her phone buzzed and she swiped it open to find a fairly unsurprising message, brief and to the point. Her usual fee. Complex infiltration defense. R&D wing, lab one. Clicking 'accept,' she tucked the phone back into one of utility pouches on the inside of her belt. It was now the perfect time to strike.

Anticipating something like this, she'd already plotted the most efficient route to the R&D wing and used her accumulated impatience to fuel her, likely setting a personal best for the trip. Shortly after entering the complex, she sensed a group of enemies just ahead. Strange. She'd thought that they'd be closer to the lab by now, if they were at all competent.

She cautiously rounded the corner and saw a familiar figure, surrounded by four strangers, who noticed her presence immediately. And of course her notice alerted the others. Well they might complicate things, but victory was far from impossible, even against this opponent.

"Headhunter. I did not expect to encounter you here." Although, in retrospect, she probably should have. There'd been rumors of the Headhunter's ties to Japan's ninja clans. Of course she would be one of Saki's contacts. A reliable enough contract to come out of what must have been her retirement at his request.

The Headhunter glanced back at the greatsword wielder. "I'll handle this. Keep going." Interesting. She wouldn't complain though. From what she'd heard, fighting the Headhunter would be no walk in the park. And part of her relished this, eager for the battle and pleased not to have any distractions. It would be a good test of her skill and she'd always been curious.

"I suppose I shouldn't be surprised that the Lotus Blossom works for the EDF. It must be quite the lucrative contract."

Aditi smiled. "Oh it is."

Strangely enough, that seemed to hit a nerve. Perhaps this was somehow personal to the Headhunter as well. How curious. The Headhunter tensed as her body prepared to unleash the first attack and adrenaline flooded Aditi as she readied her response. She would enjoy this.


	72. Chapter 71: Solace III

**Solace III:**

Amaya considered her options as the agents of the Tribunal ran ahead. At any other time, an opportunity for a fight like this would have been difficult to resist, but now it was merely in her way.

She could end it quickly with a well-placed shot, but the Lotus Blossom was armed as well and was just as likely to kill her too. She wouldn't be of much use to Miwa dead. And even if she dodged, the sound of the Lotus's unsilenced shot would announce her position to the entire facility. No, firearms were not the way to go with this fight.

She wished that she'd had time to plan the assault in more detail or call in old contacts and favors to properly equip herself for this mission, but Miwa and Leo were in a lab and every second counted. Especially after the way Leo's last attempt at contact with Yoshi had gone. Assuming they were not already too late, they needed to get this done as quickly as possible. But now a very dangerous opponent blocked her path.

"I suppose I shouldn't be surprised that the Lotus Blossom works for the EDF. It must be quite the lucrative contract."

Lotus smiled. "Oh it is."

So she'd been paid well to abduct Miwa. She would answer for that.

Amaya launched forward, unleashing her manriki, but Lotus deflected it with her dagger, spinning inward to spear Amaya with her saber. She parried the saber thrust with her wakizashi as she moved in, throwing a kick to Lotus's gut.

Lotus brought the pommel of her dagger down onto Amaya's armor reinforced ankle to redirect the kick into a miss. Then Lotus ducked Amaya's wakizashi slash as she spun inside Amaya's reach to take out her legs with a sweeping kick while thrusting her saber upward at Amaya's throat.

Amaya jumped up to evade the kick and swatted the blade away with her manriki wrapped hand. While in the air, she spun hoping to strike the Lotus in the head with a heel kick, but her opponent leaned back out of the way.

As Amaya completed the motion of her kick, Lotus hooked her saber wielding hand around Amaya's foot, yanking Amaya towards her as she stabbed, seeking to bury her dagger into Amaya's heart. Still in the air, Amaya twister her torso and backhanded the dagger aside with her chain covered hand, as she launched the manriki's other weighted end into Lotus's face, which the Lotus deflected with the hilt of her saber.

Amaya landed from her kick and rolled backwards as she retracted her manriki. Despite the urgency of the situation, she had to admit this was a good fight. Only Yoshi offered her such a challenge and the Lotus's unique style was a fascinating change of pace. They circled each other appraisingly when Lotus surprised her by speaking instead of attacking.

"So Saki called you in then?"

The Lotus knew Saki? Had she done work for the Foot clan? Given what she'd heard about the Lotus's personal standards that seemed unlikely, but how else could she be on such casual terms with him?

"I have to ask, what is so important about the snake girl, that would make him turn on Director Bishop?" Lotus's mention of Karai, caused a surge of irritation that she quickly tamped down. Her opponent was baiting her and she would not fall for it.

"I suppose you would, considering that you clearly have no problem kidnapping people for the purpose of subjecting them to unethical and potentially lethal medical experimentation. I guess reports of your vaunted code are all talk."

The Lotus's eyes narrowed and her mouth compressed into a thin line, but to Amaya's surprise, she didn't attack.

"That girl is no helpless innocent. She's like us, a deadly weapon. I could tell that much. What I can't tell is why Saki cares enough to risk everything for her."

Hmm, this was seeming less and less like baiting and stalling. The Lotus really wanted to know. Perhaps her code was everything it was said to be. And she was worried about having violated it. Amaya decided to take a calculated risk and answer truthfully.

"The snake girl is his daughter."

The Lotus's jaw fell open and she looked like she'd been kicked in the gut.

"Daughter?" Her voiced sounded grating and strained as she forced the word out. Interesting.

"Adopted, but raised from infancy."

She had not expected her answer to shake such an experienced foe. There must be more to this that she wasn't seeing. Now would be the perfect time to strike and end the threat, but something in the Lotus's distress gave her pause. Her instincts were rewarded when the Lotus's expression cleared, shock replaced by determination.

"Go. Save her."

* * *

Splinter darted into the lab and immediately zeroed in on Leonardo and Miwa in glass cells in the far corner of the room where April and Raphael battled the mutants he recognized as Xever and Bradford, minions of the Shredder. That was not a good sign.

Donatello was currently attempting to do something helpful with one of the computers, while the mutant he knew as Baxter Stockman cowered nearby. One scientist was watching from a fortified office on the far side of the room, while the other stood in the center of the lab. He could sense that she was more than she seemed to be, but was not aggressive towards them. Yet.

The doors at either end of the corners of his side of the room opened almost simultaneously. To his left entered the mutants his youngest son had dubbed Bebop and Rocksteady. To his right entered Saki, alongside a very powerful and dangerous man in a black suit.

Betrayed. Again. Why did he keep believing in Saki only to be stabbed in the heart for it? He thought that this time, with Miwa at stake…no, he couldn't allow his grief to distract him now. The situation had just become infinitely more dangerous. And his allies were now liabilities. He needed them away from here.

"Angel, Alopex, take the ones to the left."

They began to protest, but a look from him shut that down before it started. This was not up for negotiation. Alopex and nodded and Angel turned away with a scowl as they charged off to face the warthog and the rhinoceros, leaving Splinter to focus all his attention on his two very dangerous opponents. For the sake of his children, he would not lose.


	73. Chapter 72: Atonement II

**Atonement II:**

Saki strode to towards the lab, side by side with Director Bishop, too proud to walk a step behind like a proper lackey. He'd been in Bishop's office, giving a status report, when the alarms had gone off. Although he knew the turnaround for an attack of this magnitude was impressive, even for Amaya, he hadn't been able to suppress the surge of impatience that it had taken this long. But perhaps that was because he knew what happened to mutants in the EDF lab.

Poking around with as much subtlety as protocol allowed, he'd confirmed that Karai was still alive, but hadn't been able to glean anything about the experiments being performed to understand her unique mutation. They could be doing anything to her. Time was of the essence.

The door opened and despite the chaos on the other side of the room with Bradford and Xever, he zeroed in on Karai, seeing her for the first time now that he was finally able to enter the lab without raising suspicion. Finding her unharmed, he felt a wave of relief. She was in one of the cells watching events unfold with a confident smirk. Good girl.

To his surprise, he was also relieved to see that her pet turtle wasn't any worse for wear either. When had he started caring about the turtles' safety? He knew, he just didn't like to acknowledge it. Everything changed when Karai had offered him a path to redemption and as long as she cared about their wellbeing, then so did he. As if he needed more distractions. Like the one in front of him.

The last time he'd seen Yoshi was the night Karai had been mutated. No, she hadn't been mutated. He had mutated her. As galling as it was to admit, the whole debacle had been his fault. So much had changed since that night, but how could Yoshi know? Surely, Yoshi would still see him as an enemy. And that was his fault too. So it would be up to him to fix it.

"Angel, Alopex, take the ones to the left."

He experienced an instantaneous surge of annoyance that Yoshi intended to take on both him and Bishop by himself, but squashed it as he recognized that the human girl and even an ally as devious as Alopex would only be a hindrance in this battle. Since Yoshi was not one to sacrifice others, his companion's safety could easily be used as a weapon against him. Sending then after Steranko and Zeck had been the right call.

It was time. There would be no better chance. Both Yoshi and Bishop's eyes widened in surprise as he slipped a knife from the sheath sewn into the thigh of his pants and thrust it straight into Bishop's heart in a single efficient motion.

Or he would have if Bishop hadn't arched backward to dodge with more speed than should have been possible, grabbing Saki's wrist and twisting the knife free as Bishop used his own motion to throw him. Saki turned the throw into a flip and landed on both feet, facing his incredulous opponent. Bishop was more skilled than he'd anticipated. And now he'd lost the element of surprise.

The Director looked at them both warily, his eyes narrowed in calculation. "So this was your doing Oroku. I offered you a chance to do something worthy with your skills and you throw it in my face? Do you think you can take over the EDF? Even for a megalomaniac like you that's a bit much."

Saki straightened and scowled. "No."

Bishop snorted in disbelief. "Then why?"

"My loyalty to the EDF ends where my daughter's safety begins." He ignored Yoshi's flinch when he called Karai his daughter. Yoshi could suck it up. Blood or not, she was his child. He was the one who cared for her as an infant, refusing to allow anyone else to touch her. It had been him that encouraged her first steps and comforted away her nightmares when she was small.

He'd only distanced himself in her adolescence when he noticed how the clan reacted to her special treatment. Coddling her then would have only created more danger for her when the time came for her to take over. He may have been hard on her to give her the chance to earn the clan's respect on her own, but he'd never stopped caring about her and he'd always been proud of her. She was as much his daughter as Yoshi's if not more.

Bishop scowled. "The snake girl. That's unexpected. And unfortunate. You were a useful tool."

Saki took a quick glance at Yoshi and saw acknowledgement in his eyes. He didn't know how Yoshi could still trust him after everything he'd done, but they were united in purpose. They would save Karai.

Together, he and Yoshi attacked simultaneously. It was astounding, picking up where they'd left off, as though the last twenty years had never happened. Their styles harmonized and they fought as one, just like before. Yoshi moved like a fluid shadow, employing speed and misdirection to create opportunities for surgically precise strikes, while he overpowered and intimidated with his presence and sheer power.

But it wasn't enough. Bishop ducked underneath Yoshi's blinding powder and caught his piercing cane thrust to his abdomen with the knife he'd taken from Saki, digging it into the staff and yanking it to twist the weapon out of Yoshi's hand and across the room.

While that should have taken all his attention, Bishop still had the presence of mind to catch Saki's punch, aimed at his temple, somehow halting the force without any show of exertion, and jumping slightly to evade Saki's sweeping, follow-up kick, pushing off Saki's own shin as he landed to launch his own kick towards Saki's throat.

It was so fast, he barely arched back in time to evade it as he used his leg to launch Bishop into the air. Yoshi, not bothering to resist being disarmed, unleashed a series of unarmed attacks at the now airborne Bishop. The knife-hand strikes, kicks and tail slashes were lightning fast, but somehow, with no leverage at all, Bishop twisted to dodge as he deflected each attack with his unarmed hand while slashing out with the knife in an attempt to blind Yoshi, who ducked it at the last second, only keeping his ears because they'd flattened to his head at the start of the battle.

As Bishop completed his flip, orienting himself so that he'd be on his feet and facing his opponents when he landed, Saki charged in, seeking to grab and disarm his knife hand while plowing a knee into his solar plexus. But Bishop brought a hard elbow down on Saki's thigh, the force reverberating straight to the bone, redirecting it off target, while he stabbed at Saki's grabbing hand.

It was an opportunity that Saki had been waiting for. He allowed the blade to pierce through his palm, mentally slamming a lid on the pain as he closed his fist around Bishop's and planted his still mostly numb leg to force the EDF director into Yoshi's powerful kick. The strike launched Bishop towards a lab table set up for chemistry, tearing the knife free from Saki's palm.

To his astonishment, Bishop did not hit the table in a crash of glass and chemicals. He instead caught the edge of the table with his free hand, swinging his body back around before it fell to the tabletop, launching himself back in their direction, causing them both to dive and roll aside to evade a kick that shattered the floor where they had been.

Impossible. Bishop was too strong and too fast. No one, not even the most powerful of the mutants he'd known, possessed such speed and strength. He fought with a mastery of weapon and martial art styles, some Saki recognized and some he didn't, that shouldn't have been achievable for one so young. And Yoshi's kick should have broken his spine, but he'd shaken it off as though it were nothing. Even with Yoshi and him fighting together, they were barely holding their own.

But they couldn't give up. Not with Karai at stake. Somehow, someway, he would be victorious.


	74. Chapter 73: Just V

**Just V:**

Donnie struggled to block out the sounds of battle as he tried sorting out the lab controls, but the system was locked down. Its security was completely different from the rest of the facility, so he was starting from scratch and the likely danger that his friends and family were in while he stood here being useless was incredibly distracting, making it near impossible to focus.

He absolutely hated working under pressure, which, considering how often he'd hacked tech, disarmed bombs, and improvised traps in the middle of battle, was kind of ironic. Clearly fate hated him.

Why did this stupid system have to be so elaborate? It was a whole order of magnitude more difficult than the one he'd broken through to get into the place. They'd come this far and now he was stuck. It wasn't fair. Granted, he hadn't even been working to break into one of the most secure systems in the world for a full minute in the middle of a huge battle before lamenting the lack of results. Maybe his expectations were the problem.

The door Rahzar and Fishface came from opened again and he groaned. Another enemy and with Raph and April busy fighting their own battles he was left to his own devices to defend himself while still trying to crack the lab system. Screw you too fate. At least it was just some old guy with a robot fist. He could probably handle that quickly. But he didn't like the thought of leaving Leo and Miwa any longer than necessary.

"Yaaaaah!" He jerked back with a yell as Buzzkill popped up from behind the computer he was working on. Hopefully no one saw how easily startled he'd been, but with Leo and Miwa probably focused on him, that was being way too optimistic.

"I'll getzzz them outzzzz."

"What?" Why was Buzzkill offering to help him?

"Juzzzt remindzzzz your brozzzzther of hizzzzz promizzzzzze."

Had Leo made some kind of deal? Well he had to hope so. Doctor Robofist (better not tell Mikey he'd named something) had zeroed in on him.

"Fine. Just hurry."

As Buzzkill hovered over the computer terminal, Donnie turned to face his opponent. He really didn't look like a warrior, more like a scrawny old lab tech with a high tech toy. And not a very professional one at that, with a long ponytail and tie-dye t-shirt under his lab coat. But this was the EDF and nothing could be as innocuous as it seemed.

He charged forward, hoping to sweep the guy's feet with his reinforced bo staff. But his opponent tapped the fancy watch that we wore on his non-robotic hand and became incorporeal. With a startled yelp, Donnie flew right through him.

Redirecting his motion into a twisting somersault, Donnie landed facing his opponent. Just in time to be lifted into zero gravity along with all the computers and office equipment in his vicinity as the old man activated his robotic gauntlet. The guy had actually cancelled out gravity. It was an anti-gravity robotic hand. Donnie was terrified at the helplessness of his predicament, but, honestly, he was kind of geeking out a bit too. That was the coolest thing ever. He wanted one.

The old man frowned and fiddled with the controls a bit as Donnie swayed, quickly becoming nauseous. "Hmm, the calibration must be off. Bah!"

"Have you tried adjusting the frequency?" Donnie couldn't help himself.

"Well of course I did, what do you take me for…" The old man stopped and glared at him. "What would you know anyway? You're just another thug."

Donnie flailed and struggled not to toss his cookies as he kept the conversation going. "You'd be surprised. But you're obviously not one of the EDF's grunts. I mean, clearly you're a brilliant scientist." The man puffed up proudly for a bit. "So what are you doing with a lab that kidnaps people and performs unethical medical experiments on them? Where's your integrity?"

Guilt and self-loathing flashed across the scientist's features for an instant before he banished them with a shake of his head. Apparently Donnie had struck a nerve.

"You don't know what you're talking about."

"I know that my brother and sister are in your cages."

For a second, it looked like the man might lower his weapon and release Donnie. Then his expression hardened into grim determination. "There's no choice."

"There's always a choice."

"Don't be obstruse!"

"That's not even a word."

"Meh."

They both paused as the very familiar exchange played out. The scientist squinted at him. "Duz_Machines_84?"

"KirbyFan01?" Donnie couldn't believe. He just couldn't. This tool had been trolling him on tech forums for years. His internet arch nemesis could not be the antigravity genius. He just couldn't. It wasn't fair.

Then Donnie's infuriated rival sent him flying into the nearest wall with a flick of his wrist. Donnie groaned as his triple vision fused back into one image of KirbyFan01 staring down in curiosity at his forearm gauntlet computer, which had flipped open during the fall.

"Heavily reinforced, but with no loss of mobility."

Donnie rubbed his head as he sat up, responding before he recalled that he was supposed to be in a fight. "Well, I had to custom machine my own hinges to make it work…"

They both abruptly remembered where they were. Donnie snapped the computer shut as the scientist stepped back, scowling. Donnie noticed that he was looking really tired. Did the anti-gravity fist, draw power from the man's own energy? That was a dangerous design.

"You might want to affix an external battery and pre-charge it before use, to reduce the user strain."

The scientist paused and glanced at his device in wonder. "That's actually not a bad idea." Then his expression darkened as he refocused on Donnie. "But I work alone."

Donnie was almost back to his feet now, still reeling from the blow. Stupid head injuries. "Why?"

That was clearly the wrong thing to say. The old man looked like he was about to pop a vein. "Why? WHY? I'll tell you why. Years ago, I was the rising star of the science community. The name Harold Lillja was going to be associated with the future of technology. Until my greedy, backstabbing partner, stole my work and discredited me. If I ever see Eric Sacks again, I'll…"

Donnie gasped. "Eric Sacks?"

Lillja stopped his rant and turned very slowly and threateningly back towards Donnie. "You know him?"

Donnie smiled. "I ruined him."

Lillja brightened. "Really?"

"Yup. His son is definitely going to prison, long overdue. His business has been seized by the government and soon he'll be brought up on charges for stealing federal research monies and falsifying data."

Lillja grinned. "Well, why didn't you say so?" He clapped a friendly hand on Donnie's shoulder. "You're much less stupid in person, Duz_Machines."

He laughed, accepting the backhanded compliment as the best he was likely to get from Lillja. "You can call me Donnie."

* * *

Leo paced in his cell as he watched, Raph and April face off against Rahzar and Fishface, willing Donnie, hunched over a computer, to work faster at freeing him. He hated being helpless when his family was in danger. Especially when they were in danger because of him.

He scanned the room and saw his father enter from the other side with Angel and Alopex. Then the doors around them opened, letting in Bebop, Rocksteady, some man in a suit and the Shredder.

Oh no! Was that lunatic still after his dad? Had his and Karai's abductions all been an elaborate trap to lure his father into danger. No!

New sounds of battle, pulled his attention to the center of the room where Raven now battled a Japanese man and blond woman, neither of which he'd ever seen before. But if they were breaking in with his family, there was a good chance they were allies.

It was hard look away. The two women were so fast, even his trained eyes only caught blurs of motion. How was that possible? No one was that fast. Then Raven had the Japanese man at her mercy and started bringing down the katana for a killing blow as the blonde woman knocked him out of the way, taking his place.

"Raven stop!"

She froze at the sound of his voice, apparently remembering that she wasn't a murderer. Raven cast him a grateful glance as she lowered the weapon and yielded. He nodded, acknowledging that she'd done the right thing. There was hope for her yet.

A series of buzzing curses drew his attention back to the computer where Donnie had been working. His brother was gone, leaving a very frustrated Buzzkill in his place. Stockman smashed the keyboard and swiped it off the desk.

"Zzzzcrew thizzzz!"

Leo backed up as the fly mutant zipped over to his cell, splatting the glass wall with acidic vomit. Stockman was gone before Leo had a chance to ask him what he was doing, but figured it out on his own quickly enough as the acid rapidly at through the glass.

His patience was stretched to its limit as he waited for the hole to be large enough to get through without burning himself and even then, he cut it pretty close as he dove out with possibly the most precise lunge of his ninja career. A quick pat down told him that he wasn't being digested from the outside in. Success.

Seeking out his family, his gaze first landed on Raph, locked in a stalemate with Fishface. Well he'd take care of the that. He dashed towards the aquatic mutant, calling out to April, staggering to her feet beside the smoking heap that was Rahzar.

"Kunai."

Though injured, she managed to pull one out of a pouch in her uniform and toss it to him. He caught it without breaking his stride as he closed in on Fishface. Taking advantage of Xever's distraction, he swept in behind him and buried the kunai to the power module for the robotic legs, which abruptly stopped working, leaving Xever to topple to the ground mid-kick.

He glared back at Leo. "Why you sneaky…"

Fishface never had a chance to finish that thought as Raph plowed his fist into Xever's head, knocking him out mid-sentence. Raph grinned and fist bumped his brother. "Thanks Leo, although I totally could have taken him without any help."

Leo returned the grinned. "What can I say. I wanted to feel useful."

Raph pulled a pair of katana out of the shoulder strap that Leo just noticed he was wearing and offered them to him. "You're gonna need these if you're gonna lead us out of here."

Leo gratefully accepted the swords, noticing Raph shift uncertainly as he relinquished the role of leader to him. That wouldn't do. His brother had done an amazing job of organizing and leading one of the largest and, likely, most dangerous rescues in their family's history. Even if he was leading now, he couldn't do this without Raph. "I'm gonna need you too." Raph's classic smirk returned as they both turned to assess where everyone else was in the chaotic battle.

* * *

Karai hissed as she watched everyone fighting while she was stuck in yet another glass box. April had just taken Bradford down. Raph was facing off against Xever, seeming evenly matched. Some weirdo with a robotic hand was going for Donnie, which would no doubt delay her release. Angel and Alopex were taking on Steranko and Zeck. And her father was facing off against her fath…the Shredder and some guy in a suit.

To her shock, the Shredder turned on the suit guy who was too fast to be real. What? Her dads were teaming up? But why? Her. They were doing it for her. A confusing mix of emotions welled up inside of her as she watched her fathers acknowledge each other before turning, united towards the deceptively skillful suit-man.

Her view of the battle was interrupted by an acidic splat smearing across her glass cell. Stockman. That little sneak would be the one to switch sides at the drop of a hat. Not that she was complaining in this instance.

Morphing into her serpentine form, she was out of the hole, the moment it was large enough to accommodate her. It looked like Leo was going for Xever and she couldn't imagine that anyone could stand up to the combined might of her fathers for long, so she turned her attention towards Alopex and Angel.

Alopex seemed caught in a deadlock with Steranko. The rhino was too sturdy for Alopex to damage with either her claws or her kamas and she was too quick for him to land a hit. Angel, on the other hand, was not fairing so well. Zeck had gone invisible and was blasting at her with lasers, from erratically different positions with each shot. Angel's agility kept her one step ahead, but without being able to pin down the warthog's location it was only a matter of time.

Karai darted towards them, shedding several smaller snakes while she moved. As the last one pulled free, she shuddered. Even if it was a useful ability, she'd never get used to that feeling, like having the skin peeled off of her, no matter how many years she had to accustom herself.

She spat two rapid-fire blasts of venom, which Steranko dodged, alerting him to her presence as she and Alopex flanked him. He cautiously eyed them both, weighing which to be the more dangerous target, although Karai knew it would be her. She doubted he'd ever forget how easily she'd taken him down while she'd been mind-controlled.

Not that it mattered. While she and Alopex were distracting him, her smaller snakes attacked from behind, entwining and biting with a paralyzing, but nonlethal dose of venom. With a moan, he crumpled to the floor.

The three of them now spread out to hunt down Zeck. He might be able to hide from Angel and Alopex, but she as a serpent, biologically designed for detecting animal trails. A few flicks of her tongue identified the freshest tracks.

"Over there!" She gestured towards the space next to Angel with her right snakehead hand as she spoke. Before she'd finished getting the words out, Angel spun into that direction, using the momentum of her spin to lash out with her escrima sticks. Zeck's invisibility flickered out as the hits landed, the low one catching him in the knees and the high one plowing into his sensitive snout. He howled in pain before collapsing into a whimpering heap.

"Surrender!" Leo's voice pulled her attention away from their victory and she was stunned to see her fathers, looking worse for wear, still facing off with the relatively unharmed man in a suit. How could that be?

Leo stood on a nearby desk in one of those dramatic poses that always made her smile. He was such a dork. But he was her dork. Raph and Donnie were helping an injured April approach behind him, followed closely by some lady in a lab coat, the old man who'd gone after Donnie and the two strangers who'd dropped in through the ceiling.

Venus and Mona rushed in from the far door that she'd seen April, Raph and Donnie originally enter from. Casey Jones, Amaya and two more strangers, each with two handed weapons, burst in from the doorway behind the suit-man. Everyone was here and then some. Except for Mikey. His absence caused her a spike of concern. Maybe he was around somewhere and had just gotten turned around. That would be a very Mikeyish thing to do.

"You can't possibly take all of us on."

The man in the suit swept a calm, unnerving gaze around the room, his eyes narrowing at the two scientists who'd switched sides. Then he relaxed his stance, yielding. "Don't think this means that you've won."

She groaned internally, knowing that his surrender would inevitably trigger a conflict. One father would want to kill him anyway, the other would not allow it, enemy or no. To her shame, she agreed with the Shredder. This man was far too dangerous to her family to leave alive. But before the conflict could even get off the ground, she spun around as an older man in a ragged suit and trench coat dashed into the room behind her.

"Kurtzman!" Apparently Leo recognized him.

He shoved past everyone to get to the center of the room, with attention only for their enemy in the suit. "Bishop, we've got a problem!"


	75. Chapter 74:On the Run III

**On the Run III:**

The machine produced a few spluttering beeps before wheezing and dying in an exhale of black smoke from its vents.

"Same to you pal!" Jack kicked the contraption a few times in frustration before collapsing back into his office chair, inadvertently rolling back into a stack of tabloids he'd been monitoring for anything relevant that they might have accidentally published.

One way or another he'd find a way to get back at Lillja for this. The man was brilliant and moody, so if it the machine wasn't fixed, it had more to do with a disgruntled attitude than lack of ability. If they really were in as deep of trouble as he thought, maybe it was better to not know the details.

Feeling the press of an encroaching headache, he pushed himself out of his chair and navigated the maze of boxes and paper stacks to escape his office. The other EDF employees with their fancy computers might laugh at him, but he worked better old school and he got results. Besides, as Honeycutt's invention had so aptly demonstrated, technology hated him.

That didn't stop him from trying, but it usually went badly for him. And every time he seemed to master some of it, everything had changed. Did computers really need to evolve so rapidly? How did anyone stay able to use them?

Rubbing his temples, he carefully worked his way to the service elevator and then up three flights of rickety, metal stairs, which he suspected had originally been installed so that maintenance workers could get to the elevator motor, and out a small metal hatch to the roof.

Bishop would have kittens if he knew, since it probably counted as some sort of security breach, but if they didn't want it open then they should have locked it with something too complex for him to crack. Besides, he'd been doing this for years and nothing had ever come of it, possibly because no one paid much attention to the company crackpot. And he couldn't even generate a hypothetical scenario under which an enemy could discover the little, unsecured hatch. Impressive, considering that generating those kind of possibilities was his favorite hobby.

Not for the first time, as he plopped down onto the slick, thermoplastic roofing and leaned back against a solid steel air vent, he wished he could bring a folding chair with him. But that would have been too obvious. The vent was the only available back support, but the air seeping out of the tiny holes in the six-inch thick metal grate atop it smelled strongly of burnt chemicals, making him slightly uneasy about breathing.

Tilting his head back, he gazed at the stars. One advantage of the EDF's isolated setting was a sky clear of light pollution. He'd never had such a clear view of the cosmos in New York. Normally, the vastness of the universe awed him and put everything in perspective. Now he couldn't help wondering, as he looked out into space, if he was watching his approaching doom without even realizing it.

The sounds of muted alarms blaring below him, startled him out of his reverie. Uh oh. That didn't sound good. At least he was pretty sure it wasn't his fault. He would have noticed if anyone else was on the roof. Probably. Maybe. Well darn. He'd better go see what was happening.

Sparing one last glance at the stars, he paused. That was odd. It looked different than it had a moment ago. There. That one star in the center. It was becoming larger at an alarming rate. Wait, that was no star. It was…a space ship, elegant, smooth and gleaming white. Good gracious had the invasion already begun? If so that was really small armada. Maybe the Earth did stand a chance.

What an odd craft, like a jet-winged egg on an engine handle. Well if this really was the end, he'd meet it head on. Besides, he was curious. The ship, really not very big for what he expected from attacking aliens, landed, taking up a good portion of the rather large roof and the bottom of the egg opened up into stairs. Jack squinted at the glowing rectangle of light at the top of the steps and the strange silhouette emerging from it.

"Mr. Kurtzman?" That voice sounded familiar.

"Fugitoid?"

He stared in disbelief as the little robot, barely half his height, tromped down the steps in a sequence of small, jerky, robotic motions whose overall effect was oddly fluid. He'd only seen Fugitoid's face before, round and white with little lights for the mouth and eyes that somehow generated a wide range of emotion using only circular and rectangular shapes.

His arms and legs reminded him of the bendy adjustable metal of his desk lamp, connecting the smooth white segments of his hands, lower legs, head, torso and hips. Was he made out of the same material as his ship. How odd?

"Excellent. I'm glad I found you. The signal was so weak, I had a terrible time following it. Though it did help to know the source planet." Fugitoid tapped the three metal fingers he had on each hand together in front of him as he spoke, almost like a nervous habit. Did robots have nervous habits? It would be like him to run into the multiverse's only neurotic android. "I am afraid I bring dire news, but you must hear it."

He could feel his face stretch into an involuntary grimace. So much for blissful ignorance. Eh, who was he kidding? He didn't do ignorance. He had to know. Everything. Good or bad. "Tell me."

* * *

Jack rushed through the halls wishing that someone would just turn off that blasted alarm. Whatever is was couldn't be nearly as important as what he'd just learned. Seriously, where was everyone? Director Bishop wasn't in his office and he couldn't find anyone.

Rounding the next corner, he finally came across other people. Given size of the staff here, it really should not have been so hard. One was medical personal running triage on some injured soldiers.

The doctor glanced up at him in irritation as he skidded to a halt beside her. "Sir, since you are ambulatory, if you require medical attention, you need to…"

"Where is Director Bishop?"

She scowled. "Why would I…"

"If you don't know, then find me someone who does!"

"Sir, I really don't have time…"

"Of course not! None of us do! Where is the director?"

"The lab…" Her patient's voice groaned up from the floor.

Offering only a quick nod of gratitude, he took off again, paying no mind to the gasps of surprise, probably at Fugitoid, following cautiously behind him. Formulating the quickest route in his head, he dashed trying not to dwell on how quickly he was becoming winded. Despite all the cardio he was accustomed to doing, as his lifestyle involved a great lot of frantic fleeing for his survival, age was still catching up on him. Although with what was coming, that wasn't likely to be an issue too much longer.

He burst into the lab, quickly seeing Bishop in the center of the crowd and pushed past some oddly familiar mutants to get to him. "Bishop, we've got a problem!" He drew in several ragged breaths after speaking, slowly absorbing the scene around him, in which he was now the center of attention. For a moment, the impending doom of the future was forgotten as he blinked at his surroundings in confusion. "Leonardo? What are you and your family doing here?"

"Kurtzman!" Bishop's voice snapped him back to reality.

Right. Impending destruction of the world as they knew it. "I think it will be better if my contact explains."

Behind him, the snake girl, whom he recognized as the Shredder's daughter, a white fox mutant and a human girl with purple highlights in her thick black hair shifted aside to allow the little android through.

"This is Fugitoid and he comes with a warning."

The robot scurried nervously over to his side, tapping his fingertips together again. "It has come to my attention that the Earth is in grave danger. Since, as a result of circumstances not currently relevant, I was originally from here, I felt obliged to try and save my home world."

Bishop crossed his arms, drumming his fingers over his biceps, clearly impatient for the android to get to the point.

"Two alien races are rapidly approaching Earth. The Triceratons come to conquer and the Malignoids to destroy. As best as I could tell from my scans upon arrival, you are vastly outnumbered and outgunned. And they'll be here in roughly a week and a half by your measurement of time. Now I know the odds of your survival border on nonexistent, you'll lose whatever chance you have if you don't stop fighting among yourselves and unite against the coming invasion. But of course, the choice is always yours."


	76. Chapter 75: At Any Cost III

**At Any Cost III:**

This was it. The moment for which he'd centuries waiting and preparing for. So of course it had to happen now, in the middle of this clusterfuck. Whatever. Earth needed him and the Earth Defense Force. And it was going to be an uphill battle the whole way. As dangerous as these mutants had proven themselves to be, if the robot was right, they were still the lesser threat. And, if one could help it, avoiding fighting battles on multiple fronts was War 101. He needed to be able to focus everything he had forward.

Roving his eyes across the surrounding enemy forces, he decided that, despite spending most of the infiltration as his prisoner, the blue-masked mutant turtle was the one the others looked to as a leader. The turtle had noticed Bishop focusing on him, but hadn't flinched. If nothing else, that deserved respect. He tended to unnerve most people.

"In light of this new information, I propose a truce between our forces, at least until the invasion is resolved. You and your comrades may leave and nothing will be done to stop you. You have my word."

The leader raised his eye ridges in surprise at Bishop's offer while his red-masked companion snorted derisively beside him. The turtle then straightened and crossed his arms. "We agree to the armistice."

"What? Are you out of your shell? After everything he's done?" It looked like the red-masked mutant turtle was highly insubordinate.

Strangely, the leader did not reprimand him. Instead, he just smiled and responded. "Mutually assured destruction Raph. There's too much at stake right now to hold grudges."

It wasn't how Bishop would have handled the situation, but it seemed to work. The defiant turtle sighed and let the matter drop, shaking his head in disgust.

The leader returned his attention to Bishop. "If you agree to our conditions, we will work with you to fight the invasion. Otherwise, we will be combating it separately and hope we don't get in each other's way."

Stunned, Bishop wondered if he'd misheard the mutant. Did that creature just offer to assist him in saving Earth? Why? What was Earth to it? The conditions. The mutant must intend to use this opportunity to bargain on behalf of the Kraang. Well, for the sake of Earth, he'd hear it out. "And your conditions?"

It nodded as though Bishop's response was reasonable and not the result of Earth's dire situation. "You must respect the autonomy of my family and friends. We are not to be hunted down or forced into service."

Bishop weighed that for a moment and nodded, since they were still a minor threat, considering what his world now faced.

"Additionally, you will henceforth treat mutants as people and give them the same rights as humans."

Bishop blinked, confused at the odd request. It would be limiting in some respects, but still entirely doable. He nodded again. "And?"

The turtle shook his head. "That's it."

What? How could that be? He didn't understand. "That's it? That's all you want?"

The mutant frowned. "I'm not seeking personal gain from the situation, merely trying to assure that you act with justice in the future, assuming we have one."

Him unjust? How dare he? Why that self-righteous little…he'd get to the bottom of it. "And why would a creation of the Kraang be interested in helping Earth for so little incentive? Are you hoping to preserve it for conquest by your own people?"

The turtle reacted as though he had been slapped. "What? You think we're allied with the Kraang? Why?"

"The Kraang created you. I find it unlikely that they did so without purpose."

The insubordinate turtle looked about ready to explode and the leader gripped his arm to keep him reined in while struggling with his own anger. He took a deep, calming breath before responding and, enemy or not, Bishop had to admire his self-control.

"The Kraang created most of us accidentally, not intentionally, and are very sorry they did. We're the single greatest hindrance to their goals. After all, we're the ones who thwarted their invasion in New York while all your people were being mind-controlled."

Bishop frowned at the very legitimate jab to his organization as he processed what the turtle had said. They'd undone the Kraang invasion? He'd never been able to ascertain exactly what had happened in New York. It still didn't add up.

"Why? Not that I'm complaining, but why turn against your own people to side with Earth?"

The leader's jaw clenched and he needed yet another deep breath through his nose before he could unlock it and respond.

"The Kraang aren't our people. We are and have always been of Earth. Some of us started human, some started as animals, but we are all made of beings that naturally inhabit Earth and have lived our entire lives here. Earth is our home, where we belong, and some accidental alien interference with our existence isn't enough to take that from us. We were raised here, taught to defend what is right and just, and are loyal to our homeworld, no matter what role the Kraang may have inadvertently played in our existence. So do you want to work with us or not, because either way we will be protecting our home?"

It had been a long time since anything had truly surprised Bishop, but this revelation turned everything upside down. Mutants hadn't been created by the Kraang to subjugate Earth? They, or at least these ones, were a byproduct of Kraang meddling that remained loyal to the Earth and had turned on their creators. Like him.

He hadn't asked to be abducted and experimented on and would destroy those aliens and any others like them to protect his world. It never occurred to him that mutants shared a similar experience. He'd never expected anyone to share that similarity with him. And he'd been hunting them down. How ironic.

"Very well. Your conditions are accepted…"

"Leo."

"Leo then. We will convene in the crisis center where the robot will provide any and all information it has available concerning these Triceratons and Malignoids. Follow me."

* * *

The alarms mercifully stopped blaring as Karai moved with the rest to follow Director Bishop who was issuing a series of commands to the facility through his phone as he set a walking pace that more closely resembled anyone else's running speed.

Her emotions swirled in a confusing blur. She hadn't felt so uprooted since she'd learned of her true parentage. Once again she was untethered and reeling. She'd gratefully received a hug from the father who'd come to rescue her, while the father, who'd sided with him, hung back and watched before the group had left to follow Bishop.

Her world was turned upside down yet again as she questioned everything she'd thought she'd known. Memories, tainted and buried by years of fruitlessly working to win the approval of the man she'd once called father, rose unbidden, bringing to mind a time, when she'd been very young. When his attention had been all for her and he never hid how proud of her he was. What was real and what wasn't? She didn't know anymore. Why couldn't anything make sense?

She didn't realize that she'd drifted to the back of the group until Leo appeared beside her. He should be at front with Bishop but, seemingly always aware of her, he'd come to discover what was bothering her.

She couldn't help the spike of guilt she felt at his concern. There was so much to make up for. He just walked by her side, waiting until she was ready to speak. She knew the first thing, she needed to apologize for, especially after this second experience with laboratory imprisonment.

"Leo do you remember that night when I first used the footbots? When I captured you?"

He winced. "I try not to. Why?"

She cringed as she called to mind the image of him trapped in that tiny cage, dangling from the dojo ceiling. "I never said I was sorry."

"Karai, you don't have…"

"Yes, I do. Leo I joked about selling you to a lab and I didn't even know how horrible…"

He placed a hand on her shoulder, quelling the tremors that had already begun to run through her. "You were angry and had a right to be."

"No, I didn't."

"At that time, you truly believed my Sensei murdered your mother and that came right on the heels of me betraying your trust. If anyone should apologize, it's me."

She almost laughed out loud as she recalled that mess that she'd gotten them into so long ago. It had been her own fault, even if he wouldn't admit it. All she had needed to say was that she could get them weaponry, but instead she'd just blurted out all the details, including the Shredder's location at a very specific time, counting on Leo not to act on it. A confidence that had not been misplaced. In his place, she would never have been so irrationally noble. His more level-headed brothers, also present, had not been part of her calculations.

"No you shouldn't Leo. You made the right call then."

He frowned. "My 'call' cost our alliance with you against the Kraang."

"You listened to your brothers when you knew your judgment was impaired, which was also my fault."

He grinned at that.

"That's true leadership. If I had a right to be mad at anyone, it should have been me for my own carelessness with secrets that I'd been entrusted with. If you had made such a slip up back then, I wouldn't have hesitated to use it, so no Leo, you have nothing to apologize for."

"You know we're not keeping score right?"

She chuckled as she realized that she most certainly was, like a ledger in her head. "I can't help it. And after tonight, I probably have another mark in the shame column."

Leo's frown turned indignant. "Why? For manipulating Dr. Chaplin?"

She was so startled that she'd almost stumbled, but her natural agility and years of training would not allow her mind to trip up her body up. "How did…?"

"My scientist was chatty. And please don't apologize for that either. You kept us off the dissection table. And it wouldn't be the first or craziest thing anyone in this family has done to protect the others."

A smile crept across her face. "I'm pretty sure you're the record holder there."

Now his smirk had almost a Raph-like quality to it. "Of course. In our family we take care of each other. Just like you did for us when we were in that lab. It's what we do."

She sighed and leaned in to him as he wrapped an arm around her shoulders. "Yes, I suppose it is."

"Good. Now let's go save the world."


	77. Chapter 76: To Seek IV

**To Seek IV:**

Hun sat in his parked car outside a very familiar warehouse. Tinted windows kept him invisible to the outside world. He smiled as he reflected on how perfectly everything was working out. With the turtles and most of their allies out of the way, there were almost no obstacles to taking back what was rightfully his.

Driven into exile and disgraced, he'd watched them like a hawk from the shadows, waiting with the patience of a spider. And his payout had finally come. Gokomodo's request for information had lined his pockets while satisfying his thirst for vengeance.

Admittedly, he'd hoped that someone with Gokomodo's resources could have afforded a strike team effective enough to snatch up more than the silly, orange turtle, but with the others running off to rescue it, he had his opportunity.

And Gokomodo's money was most definitely being well spent. According to the tail he set on their human allies, the hockey boy and ninja girl, the whole lot of them had left by plane hours ago. There would be no chance of them returning in time to execute a rescue even if a distress call made it out. Everything was perfect.

He watched out the window as the hockey boy's little sister trotted by, her backpack bouncing as she went. Once she disappeared into the warehouse, he pulled out his phone to signal the mercenaries he'd hired. It was time.

* * *

Keno rubbed his eyes as he looked back and forth between the patrol rosters and the city maps. Fong had just given him a list of people requesting to opt out of tonight's rounds for sick leave, family events and 'personal reasons.' He almost laughed at the absurdity of it. Who reported to their gang that they weren't available because they couldn't miss their five-year-old cousin's birthday party? Even among vigilante styled gangs they had to be the strangest of the lot. And now he had to shift everyone around so that the groups would be balanced. What a mess. How had he managed to get himself into this?

"Sir?" Fong was still waiting for a response.

He ran his hands through his hair. "I'll have the new rosters posted before nightfall."

Some undercover agent. Angel had known what he was up to from the start and had just been jerking him around. And now she was off, gallivanting about wherever, leaving him with all the work.

Technically, Shadow was in charge, but with her school hours, most of the responsibilities fell to him. As if he didn't have enough to do between classes and work. This was seriously cutting into the time he'd rather be spending with Irma and figuring what was going on with Carter, whose responses to his text had been vague and guarded.

Though honestly, he'd just been grateful to hear from his friend at all. Hopefully everything would be ok. Carter knew that he was here for him and would come to him when he was ready. Assuming he ever got a moment to himself again.

Well he'd wanted to know what the Dragons were up to. And now, thanks to an extremely loquacious Shadow, he did. In way too much detail. Really, all he needed to know was that the Dragons were truly a well-intentioned neighborhood watch group now and that he could go home and never come back. Which he probably could have if Angel hadn't skipped town and named him second in command.

Shadow was a good kid, but still just a kid. He could not in good conscience ditch her with this. But seriously, the moment Angel was back, he was gone. He had his own life to get return to.

Shadow's cheerful voice echoed up from the first floor as she greeted her comrades, bouncing into the warehouse like a cartoon ray of sunshine. She'd been on cloud nine since meeting some boy at her brother's hockey classes and was practically glowing with happiness.

Keno probably would have rolled his eyes and gagged, except he knew it would make him a hypocrite. He'd been getting weird looks from people since meeting Irma. He wouldn't even have known what they were about if he hadn't once caught himself in a dreamy smile, reflected back by a plate glass window when his mind had drifted while he waited for his next class in the campus commons.

Turning away from the lists, he walked towards the railing that overlooked the first floor and rested his arms on it as he watched the show. Several people were awkwardly trying to avoid Shadow as she cheerfully chatted up a storm. He couldn't help but laugh a bit. She was a good kid.

She'd just shifted into talking-with-her-hands mode to poor Tsoi when all hell broke loose. The windows shattered as men in combat gear, armed with assault rifles burst through. Everyone dropped to the floor as they unleashed a volley of bullets, although Shadow managed to disable a few with some well-aimed throwing stars. He had to admit, the girl had skills.

From his vantage point, he could tell that this was a show of force and not a massacre. The men were intentionally shooting high to avoid hitting people. Their purpose was to intimidate. But why?

Through the main doors came a very solid looking man, covered in dragon tattoos and wearing aviator sunglasses. He kind of reminded Keno of Bruce Lee. It would have been comical if not for the professional mercenaries and the fact that this man's presence made Keno's hair stand on end.

The guy was serious bad news. And his attention as all for Shadow. Damn. He needed to get down there. Fast. There were some metal stairs by the cargo elevator, but he hesitated to let Shadow out of his sight in the presence of this man, even for a moment.

"Girl, I'm told you are in charge." The man spoke in accented English.

To her credit, Shadow didn't flinch as she stood to face him. "I am."

The man snapped into a fighting stance and Keno could see the spiked rings that he wore like brass knuckles. "I am the true Hun of the Purple Dragons and I challenge you for leadership of the gang."

Oh crap.

"I accept." Shadow straightened her shoulders as she responded with bravado. Sid threw her katana to her and she caught it without ever taking her eyes off of Hun.

Keno needed a more efficient way down. His eyes caught a hooked chain, dangling from a crane apparatus in the ceiling. _Hang on Shadow._ He climbed to balance on the rail, carefully judging the distance he'd need, lest this be the shortest rescue attempt ever, while the battle ignited below.

* * *

Shadow circled Hun as she unsheathed her sword. Normally she would have hesitated to use her blade against such a barely armed opponent but all her instincts were screaming danger and she didn't think that she could afford any kind of hesitation if she were to live through this. With things going so well with Walt, she really, really wanted to live through this.

The tension broke and they charged each other. With her longer ranged weapon, she should have started out with the advantage, but he was so fast. The Hun had caught her initial slash, aimed to come down at an angle into his shoulder, between his palms. With a twist of his hands, he wrenched the katana from her grip, sending it flying across the warehouse towards the front door as he stepped in with a deadly punch to her throat.

She could feel the tips of his clawed knuckles graze her flesh as she just barely spun out of the way, suddenly grateful for all the brutal training sessions she'd endured between the Turtles, Angel and Alopex.

If only her high school didn't have a stupid moratorium on weapons, she'd have been able to conceal more than some smoke bombs and a few throwing stars on her person. As it was, unless she managed to get enough distance to fill him full of shruiken, she was reduced to hand to hand combat.

Turning her spin into a sweeping kick, she tried to take out his legs, but he merely jumped her kick as though he'd seen it coming. But he wouldn't foresee her follow up. In the same motion, she planted her kicking foot and transferred all her force into bringing her other leg up and around to smash in his ribs, bracing both hands on the floor as she did so to achieve maximum power.

To her shock, he caught her ankle. She didn't have time to counter as his hand clamped down on her leg and he ripped her off the floor. For an instant she was airborne before his kick landed squarely in the center of her back. Her brain didn't even have a chance to register the pain before she smashed through a stack of old crates and everything went dark.

* * *

The Hun was just yanking Shadow's unconscious body out of the wood rubble when Keno swung down at him from the crane hook which had broken loose from the ceiling under his weight. It was a stroke of pure luck that he'd jumped in exactly the direction he'd needed to go.

Sensing his approach, the Hun dropped Shadow and jumped back, catching the hook, instead of being impaled on it and yanking it with a spin. Keno released the chain as he dropped to the ground, absorbing his momentum in a roll.

"If you want her, you're gonna have to go through me." He wished he felt as confident as he sounded.

The Hun cracked his neck. "Fine by me."

Keno burst towards him with a flurry of rapid punches, each of which the Hun effortlessly blocked. Keno deflected the Hun's counter knee to his gut, but failed to catch the second kick that plowed a heel into his chest as the Hun swapped legs midair.

Keno flew backwards, slamming back first onto the wood shard covered concrete, forcing his legs over his head in a roll, so he'd end up on his feet and facing his opponent even as his torso radiated pain. The Hun had landed his kick on his shoulder blades and palms, almost a handstand, before pushing off with an arching snap to whip himself back into standing position in a single fluid motion.

Keno couldn't beat him and he knew it. But Shadow's unconscious body lay beside him and for her sake as well as his own, he couldn't just give up. The Hun was looking for annihilation, not surrender. Then he noticed a small steel marble that had rolled out of one of her pouches. At the very least it might serve as an effective distraction to buy him some kind of an advantage.

Snatching it up, he whipped it at the Hun's face, while he tensed to launch another attack despite his body's emphatic protests. But the Hun wasn't thrown off at all, swatting the marble down as though it were a mere gnat annoying him.

However, the moment the marble hit the ground, it exploded into a cloud of smoke. A smoke bomb? Really? Whatever, he'd take what he could get. Without waiting to for the gas to even fully release, he scooped up Shadow and dashed for the door, swiping up her katana as he went.

Once outside, he didn't stop running for several blocks, ignoring all the strange looks he garnered from strangers as he went. By the time he was fully winded, he darted into the nearest alley and collapsed behind a dumpster.

He'd put some distance between them and Hun, but he doubted a guy like that would be satisfied so long as they lived. He and Shadow needed a safe place to crash where he could evaluate Shadow's injuries. If he didn't think Hun might follow and attack anyway, he would have taken her to the nearest emergency room, but doing so would just up the collateral damage for a psycho like that. No, they needed to lie low for the moment. But the Dragons knew where he and Shadow lived. And Carter's apartment was under police investigation after being discovered as a ransacked mess.

Irma! He'd kept her out of the whole Dragon investigation in case things went badly. This was in no way what he'd been anticipating, but he was certainly glad that he'd kept her a secret. They could crash there while he checked on Shadow and considered his next step. And right now, he could really use her advice.

* * *

Irma poured the hot water from the kettle into her mug, letting the tea steep as she cast another glare at her phone, as though it were the device's fault that April hadn't called. After sending April to Carter, she'd kind of expected some sort of explanation, but her 'friend' was dodging her calls and refusing to initiate contact. She'd also missed their last few classes.

Irma was fed up to the point of marching straight over to Second Time Around and demanding the answers she sought, but out of deference to their friendship, she'd give April one more night before issuing an ultimatum. If April didn't call or spontaneously show up, she'd confront her tomorrow.

Irma was about to take her first sip of tea, when a pounding at her door almost caused her to spill the scalding beverage all over herself. April? Relieved, she rushed to the apartment door and was met with a mixture of disappointment and exhilaration. It wasn't April. Of course it wasn't. She'd been foolish to hope. But Keno was always a welcome sight, filling her stomach with butterflies every time he smiled at her.

Until she took note his injuries and the unconscious young woman in his arms. Wait, was that Maria? What was Keno doing with Casey's little sister and why did they look like they'd just walked out of an action movie finale?

Keno's smile faltered, probably at the inevitable downturn in her expression. "I'm kind of on the verge of dropping here. Can we come in?"

She nodded numbly and stepped aside as he staggered in and gently set Maria on the couch before sinking to the floor with a groan.

"What happened?" Her voice was surprisingly level.

"It's a long story." His response was half spoken, half moaned.

She sat down in the chair next to the couch, hands wrapped around her tea mug. "I'm listening."

He chuckled bitterly and laid back to stare at the ceiling as he talked. "I may have recently joined the Purple Dragon Gang."

She almost dropped her tea. "You what?"

"They were always such a terror to my neighborhood when I was growing up. I hated them."

She snorted. "So of course you joined them?"

He sighed. "After the invasion, they seemed different. I don't know. It was like they were protecting people instead of shaking them down. I didn't buy it. I was so sure that they were up to something."

She pushed up her glasses to massage the bridge of her nose. "So you joined up to find out what?"

"Yeah." He sounded miserable. She should probably offer him some tea…or painkiller. But she really wanted to hear this.

"Given the state of you, I take it you were right?"

He let out a sharp, dry laugh. "Oh, hell no. They were totally on the up and up."

Her lips compressed as she frowned in puzzlement. "So what exactly went wrong then? Because something clearly went wrong."

"Old management showed up and gave me the boot. Literally."

She set her tea on the coffee table before she really did drop it. "What? Why you? It's not like you were in charge."

He shrugged as best he could while lying on the floor. "Eh, second-in-command."

She jumped to her feet, shouting. "Second-in-command? I thought you said that you only joined recently?"

He tried, unsuccessfully to push himself upright. "A couple of weeks tops."

She began to pace in the limited space between the chair, couch and coffee table. "What the hell? Who is in charge?"

He tried again, finally achieving an upright position. "Right now? A complete psycho. A little less than an hour ago? Maria."

Dumbfounded, Irma dropped back into her chair. "Casey's little sister is the leader of the Purple Dragon Gang?"

He cringed as he tried taking a deep breath. "Was. Technically, Casey's other sister, Angel, is in charge, but she's out of town at the moment. And Maria and I just got are asses handed to us by a badass sociopath. As much as I do not want to explain this Angel when she gets back, right now, I'm more concerned about the harm that guy is gonna do in the interim. Irma, the people trust the Dragons at the moment. It's gonna be awful."

He looked so defeated as he spoke, it broke her heart. No. She wouldn't stand for it. Pulling herself out of her chair and sinking to the ground beside him, she placed a calming hand on his forearm.

"He won't get away with it. We'll figure it out. I promise. But first things first. Let's see to those injuries."


	78. Chapter 77: Teamwork VI

**Teamwork VI:**

The crisis center was a whole lot more boring than the name sounded. It was just a huge conference room full of LCD screens in all the walls. Considering that they'd always just crowded around the biggest table in Donnie's lab for essentially the same purpose, the room was exactly what it needed to be, but after the movies Leo had watched, he was kind of expecting something flashier from an organization with resources.

Despite the alliance, they were still very split. Fugitoid was at the far end of the conference table, literally plugging himself into one of the wall ports while saying that it was the fastest way to deliver the information. Director Bishop stood beside the robot, watching him with an almost predatory gaze as he waited for the transfer to complete. EDF Agent Shredder was at his side, as though their earlier tussle hadn't even happened.

Other EDF personnel filled that end of the room, while Leo's clan either stood or sat at the other. Well, Donnie, Venus, April and Casey were the only ones seated. Kurtzman had bridged the gap by positioning himself between the two groups.

Casey leaned back in his chair and started to put his feet on the table when Donnie swatted them away. The vigilante was about to respond in classic Raph fashion when Donnie began tapping at the table and it awoke in a burst of light and color. The entire conference table was like a giant tablet. That was pretty freaking cool.

"Geeking out over the Space Heroes-like control panel?"

He could feel his cheeks heat up at Karai's question, but flashed her a smile when he answered. "Maybe a little."

Leo almost jumped at the sensation of his father's hand on his shoulder, having not even sensed his presence. It was amazing that Sensei could still do that even after the years of training Leo had undergone.

In deference to his age and family position, his father hadn't hugged him when they reunited, although Leo suspected he wanted to just like when he'd been little. If he were being honest, he would have welcomed it. This experience had been wretched and he could have used the comfort. But the heart of an enemy fortress in front of a dangerous ally was not the best time.

Still, he hadn't failed to notice that Sensei had kept very close to him and Karai since the rescue and this was the third time that his normally reticent father had either place a hand on his shoulder or patted his shell, as if to reassure himself that Leo was in fact alive, well and returned to him. Far from being embarrassed, Leo appreciated the gesture. He always knew that his family treasured him as he did them, but little reminders of that fact were always nice.

"So watcha doin' D?"

Donnie didn't even look up at Casey's query. "Reestablishing a connection to my network in order to check my inbox. Our armband computers have been cut off since we were caught in the infiltration."

Casey crossed his arms over his chest. "Is that safe?"

This time Donnie did look up, only to glare at him as if to say 'who do you think you're talking to?' Casey didn't back down and Donnie rolled his eyes. "Trust me, I've got it covered."

Casey shrugged. "Whatever you say D."

Donnie tapped a few more keys and straightened smugly. "There. Totally secure computer and phone functionality restored."

Casey flipped his armband computer open to confirm. "Nice D. So are there any games on this thing?"

"It's not a toy!" Casey only laughed as Donnie's voice rose an octave. Scowling, his brilliant brother flipped open his own armband computer and began tapping away.

Leo had just been relaxing into the familiar exchange between Casey and his brother when Donnie stiffened at something on his screen and fled the room followed closely by Venus, April, Casey and, surprisingly, Sensei. He looked at Karai who's eyes reflected equal confusion.

A glance told him that Raph, clinging fiercely to Mona's hand, was itching to go too, but was clearly unwilling to leave Leo here even if he did have Angel, Alopex, Aunt Amaya and their strange new allies to whom he had yet to be introduced.

Well, Donnie was their tech expert and they really were going to need him here for the discussion about the alien technology poised to destroy the Earth. He was already edgy enough without Mikey here; he didn't need to be down another brother.

Leo still didn't know why Raph had left Mikey back with the vehicles or wherever he was, probably because he'd been annoying Raph, but he had to say he was impressed, even if he did think not bringing Mikey was a tactical error. Goofball or not, Mikey was still a highly skilled ninja and an essential part of the team. But that Raph could tell him to stay put, especially in this situation, and have him listen was mind boggling. Later he would absolutely have to find out how Raph had done it.

Leo tried to catch Raph's eye and was unnerved to see his brother avoiding his gaze as he grew increasingly antsy. Something was wrong. "Raph?"

"I'm sure everything's fine."

Leo frowned. Raph was never this evasive. "If everything is fine, then he needs to get back here for Fugitoid's presentation. And ideally I'd like Mikey here too. Despite his short attention span, he does sometimes have randomly useful insights."

Raph froze at the mention of Mikey and Leo's heart sank. Whatever was wrong it had to do with Mikey.

"Raph, where is Mikey?"

Raph drew in a shaky breath. "I screwed up Leo."

Screwed up? Screwed up how? As much as he wanted to explode at Raph right now and as much as Raph was expecting it, he took a deep breath, forcing his emotions back under control. "Tell me what happened."

"Some guy in Japan set a trap for him, posing as a client for that party service he does. They took him Leo."

The willpower holding his emotions in check snapped. "What! What's everyone doing here then?"

Raph glared. "Rescuing you and Miwa, numbshell!"

Leo was actually shaking as he spoke. "We would have been fine a while longer. Miwa had it under control. But Mikey…"

"Slash and the Mutanimals have it covered."

Some of the panic edged away. He'd rather not outsource the rescue of a brother, but Slash was essentially family and could be trusted implicitly. Besides, if Mikey had been taken to Japan, the Mutanimals would have been perfectly positioned to get him out of trouble right away.

"Donnie's probably getting an update on Mikey to let us know he's safe."

Leo could see that Raph didn't believe his own words, no matter how badly he wanted to. Donnie's reaction was not one of relief.

"Just go already. Bishop's voice reminded him that their discussion was not private. "I'd rather review the Fugitoid's files first before he goes over them with everyone anyway. Take care of what you need to so that you can focus or you won't be of any use to me."

Leo cast him a defiant glare before grabbing Karai's hand and rushing out of the room with Raph and Mona on their heels.

* * *

Candy shifted uneasily as the plane rocketed ever closer to their destination. Between what her team and told her about the turtles and a few phone calls that would make any con artist proud, she'd managed to surmise where their plane had most likely landed, which was disturbingly near EDF headquarters.

She should probably be spending this time brainstorming ways to keep their pilot from reporting them if contacted, but the turtle's failure to respond to all their calls and messages had her on pins and needles. If something had happened to them, then Mikey was SOL and they'd screwed themselves for nothing.

Dr. Rockwell was keeping busy not coming up with whatever apparatus he needed to design, cursing profusely at his computer for most of the journey. Leatherhead brooded at the back of the plane, only reminding the rest of his presence by the incessant tapping of his tail.

Slash spent the trip pacing, until Umeko would convince him to sit beside her. Then he'd be back up pacing ten minutes later with her eyes trailing him until she couldn't take it anymore and would induce him to return to her. Their lack of contact had made Slash's restlessness grow worse over the course of the trip, making it progressively difficult for Umeko to get through to him.

On one of the benches, seated by themselves were Pimiko and Carter, whom no one really knew or entirely trusted. If she understood it right, the attractive Asian woman was actually responsible for Mikey's abduction before she'd defected to enact a doomed rescue.

Carter, the stranger who'd somehow followed the time traveler from New York, was supposed to be a mutant. He looked normal enough to her. Assuming that looking like you stepped out a magazine ad in which conveniently misplacing most of your clothing was your selling tactic for whatever product, counted as normal.

Seriously though, in nothing but what was essentially a ragged, jean speedo, he was really distracting. They were going to have to find some new clothes for him as soon as they landed.

Not because he was making it a bit difficult for her to focus, which admittedly he kind of was, even if she didn't usually buy into classical forms of beauty, but the tension between Pimiko and Carter was of an entirely different sort and becoming increasingly awkward as they kept not-so-subtly, sneaking glances at each other while working through the most stilted, halting conversation of getting to know one and other better. With any luck, a fully clothed Carter would be the key to those two not making the entire rest of the team horribly uncomfortable.

Candy was seated at a table, too small for most practical purposes, playing Go Fish with Pete and Mondo, although she and Mondo's minds weren't really on the game and Pete had an extremely poor grasp of the rules. It was more something to keep their hands busy as the tension continued to ratchet up.

They all jumped when Slash's phone ringer sounded and he nearly snapped the sturdy device in half trying to get it open. "Donnie, it's about time!"

She smiled as the tension dissipated. Everyone had assured her that once they'd made contact, everything would be fine. Well maybe not the fallout from their decisions, but one problem at a time.

As much as she wanted to listen in to Slash's side of the conversation, her own phone was ringing. Director Bishop! Her stress level was back through the roof. How could he have found out about what she'd done so quickly? _Maybe he hadn't. Don't jump to conclusions. Pretend everything is fine, until you're sure it's not._ Clearing her throat and hoping she sounded reasonably normal, she answered. "Yes sir."

"Agent Fine, I need you to gather your team and bring them to headquarters immediately."

Oh God he knew. They were all screwed.

"Sir?"

"Level 5 code red. Get here. Now."

He hung up and she gaped at her phone in disbelief. Level 5 code red? Wasn't that the impending apocalypse alert that they weren't ever going to use. She'd assumed it was only listed to give scale to all the other alerts. What the hell?

Well if he thought they were all still back in Japan, at least being almost here bought them some time to clear their current mission. She turned back to Slash who was now done with his call. Or more accurately, he was done talking and had passed the phone to Dr. Rockwell who was now rapidly speaking science-ese into it.

"Bishop needs us at headquarters ASAP. There's probably a little time to meet with the turtles first, but we need to get there. It's a level 5 code red."

Slash snorted with what she suspected was amusement. What was his deal? This was serious.

"Well that explains a lot."

She raised an eyebrow. "Explains what?"

"Tell the pilot to change course to headquarters."

As she stood to comply with his command, she couldn't help but wonder why he was abandoning that poor turtle boy even if they were in the middle of a potentially world ending disaster.

"And the turtles…"

"Are waiting for us at headquarters. They've allied with the EDF."


	79. Chapter 78: Hero Worship V

**Hero Worship V:**

Ugh. Shadow's head pounded and her body ached. Was she getting sick? It wasn't flu season. And yet she felt like three miles of bad road. Why? Her eyes snapped open. Hun! She'd been fighting him and…lost.

Shadow bolted upright and immediately regretted it as her body screamed with countless bruises and abrasions that she had not been aware of a second ago. She'd been expecting to be locked up in one of the cargo bays, having been taken prisoner, since she wasn't dead. She definitely hurt way too much to be dead. No, this was an unfamiliar apartment. That was either very good or very bad depending on whether or not it was the Hun's.

She could hear hushed voices coming from deeper in the apartment, but couldn't make out what they were saying. Taking a quick inventory, she determined that while she was cut up and bruised, nothing was badly lacerated or broken. The worst of it might be a mildly sprained wrist. She'd gotten off lightly, all things considered.

Even so, it was an unpleasantly new experience for her. No matter how intense or grueling her training sessions had been or how definitively she'd had her ass handed to her, no one, not Angel, Alopex, her brother or the Turtles and Master Splinter had ever really harmed her. Nothing she'd learned had prepared her for getting a beat down.

While she was glad to have never experienced it before and hoped never to again, she wished she had some frame of reference for dealing with it. Things were still a little fuzzy, but she suspected the defeat would carry both mental as well as physical ramifications for her.

She wasn't tied up or chained. That was hopeful. Forcing her protesting body to her feet, she crept carefully towards the voices, which seemed to be emanating from the bathroom.

"Hold still. This is already difficult enough." The female voice was unfamiliar.

"Please tell me you're almost done." Keno. Oh thank God.

"You're back looks like it got hit by a wood porcupine. This is going to take a while." Whoever the woman was, she sounded friendly-ish, under the irritation.

Shadow poked her head around the corner to see Keno straddling the toilet lid, head resting on his forearms, shirtless with several purple-blue splotches of forming bruises. Behind him stood a college-age woman wearing a purple, plaid skirt and black tank top. Her purple-highlighted, black, bobbed hair was pulled out of her face with even more purple barrettes. Apparently, purple was her favorite color.

Her green eyes squinted through her thick glasses as she hovered over Keno's exposed back with a pair of tweezers. Keno lolled his head towards the door, tensing as he caught sight of Shadow. Reading his body language, the girl followed his gaze and gasped. "Oh, you're up."

Shadow shuffled awkwardly into the bathroom. "Uh, hi."

The girl managed a strained smile. "Hi, I'm Irma."

"April's friend?"

The way Irma's lips compressed and her eyes narrowed made Shadow wonder if she'd said the wrong thing.

"Something like that. Anyway, how are you feeling?"

Shadow winced as her attention was called back to her aching body. "Sore."

Irma shook her head. "No, I mean dizzy or nauseous. I checked your pupils while you were out and they dilated fine, but I'm still concerned that you might have had a concussion."

Shadow shook her head and immediately wished she hadn't as it made the pounding sensation much worse. "Just hurts."

Irma nodded thoughtfully. "That's good. Still, you might not want to sleep for a while yet, just in case."

Shadow almost nodded, but thought better of it after her last head gesture. "Sure."

"There's some peroxide and adhesive bandages on the sink if you want to get started on the cuts you can reach. I'll be at this a while, but I'll be happy to look you over for wood quills when I'm done."

Irma gestured towards the sink and Shadow got started cleaning out the many small cuts and scrapes that she could see, wondering if there would be enough bandages.

"What happened?"

"The Hun happened." Keno's voice sounded strained as Irma plucked out another shard of wood.

"I remember that. I mean afterwards."

"I jumped down to rescue you. After he cleaned my clock, I used one of your smoke bombs to escape. Why do you even have smoke bombs?"

She offered him a wan smile. "Angel believes in being prepared. Not that Irma's place isn't great and all, but why here?"

Keno sighed. "Unfortunately, the Dragons know about your place and mine, but I kept my girlfriend a secret from them, so we're under the radar here."

Shadow smiled genuinely as Irma's cheeks pinked when he referred to her as his girlfriend. Then Keno's words sunk in and her heart almost stopped.

"My dad! My dad's still at our apartment!"

Abandoning her medical care, she whipped out her phone and dialed home. To her relief, her dad picked up on the second ring.

"What's up kiddo? You going to be home for dinner tonight?"

"No dad. There's kind of a situation."

"What kind of situation? Are you hurt?" The tone of her dad's voice made her momentarily wonder if the Hun might seriously regret showing up at her place.

"No, I'm fine." Sort of. "But I can't come home right now and you need to crash with Mr. O'Neil for a bit."

"What?"

"Please. I promise I will explain everything later, but I need you to trust me right now."

There was a long, stressful pause before he finally responded. "Fine. But I expect you at the Second Time Around no later than ten pm to tell me what's going on."

She sighed in relief. "I will. Thanks dad and please get out of there fast."

"I'll see you later kiddo."

"Bye dad." She hung up and groaned. That was not a conversation she was looking forward to. She looked back at Irma and Keno who were back to splinter plucking, but had clearly been listening in. "So what now?"

Keno grimaced. "There's no way the two of us can take him and, honestly, almost everyone else in the Dragons would be a liability rather than an asset. We could use Angel and maybe that brother you keep bragging about."

She rubbed her face, discovering a plethora of new injuries. "Except they and April are out of town." Along with every other ally she knew. Well maybe not every other ally. There was Walt, Cait and Zach.

Her blossom of hope faded at the thought of taking Walt into battle against the Hun. No way. He wasn't a fighter. None of them were. But as she reflected on her recent experiences with them, the memory of Zach's conspiracy theory room loomed large in her mind. Maybe they didn't need more fighters. Maybe they needed a plan. If anyone could do it, it would be Zach.

And Cait, as a Dragon, was kind of already involved. She had the night off for a date, but Shadow would need to call her sooner rather than later to stop her from returning to gang headquarters.

If she involved Zach, she'd need to bring in Walt. After having watched Casey's over-the-top tantrums whenever he was left out of the Turtles' exploits, she had a great appreciation for the delicacy of male pride. She didn't want to risk Walt getting hurt. But there was no time to wait for her family to get back before the Hun started using the Dragons, her Dragons, to start wreaking havoc upon an unsuspecting populace. No. They were her responsibility and she would not allow it.

Opening her phone to her proud new speed dial number, she initiated the call.

"Hey Maria, what's up?"

"I need you, Zach and Cait to meet me at April's second hand shop tonight. It's an emergency."


	80. Chapter 79: Guardians V

**Guardians V:**

Leo stared blankly down at the tablet in his hands as Karai scrolled through the files. He'd sat just as numbly through Fugitoid's presentation and been given this summary to review on his own afterwards. But he couldn't concentrate not now. Not ever until things were right again.

Karai opened the next page of detailed schematics. Some part of his mind must have been taking some of it in as he was impressed that Fugitoid had been able to pick up so much, just by tapping into their enemies' communications.

But normally, he'd be formulating lists of potential strategies to counter his enemies and organizing them in order by likelihood of success. Now he had nothing other than a vague, detached sense that this was bad. His well of inspiration was closed for business.

Karai magnified a diagram that he merely blinked at. He had to squelch a flicker of resentment at her composure, knowing that only her years of stern service to the Foot clan under the Shredder had offered her the training to compartmentalize her emotions this way. He should be grateful that she was here helping him. If she weren't, he probably would have smashed the tablet in a fit of frustration by now. He didn't exactly get along with technology under ideal circumstances. True, he was nowhere near Mikey-incompetent when it came to anything techy beyond games…

Mikey. Any pretense of focus scattered. His baby brother was in mortal danger. And there was nothing he could have done to prevent it or could do now to help save him. That man had taken Mikey. All alone, in a lab in Japan, no one had been there to save him. Leo felt sick just thinking about it.

It was not even within his power to help save Mikey now. Donnie had already exploded at him for hovering while he worked and Karai had needed to drag Leo to another room to keep the conflict from escalating into a serious altercation. All he could do was trust that Donnie and Rockwell, with the volunteered assistance of Fugitoid and that new friend of Donnie's, Lillja, to figure it out.

Leo wasn't even completely sure what was wrong. Slash made it sound like the lab had taken Mikey's mutagen. That had sort of happened to Raph at the farmhouse, somehow turning him into a flower and Donnie had no problem reversing that. But Don had made two important differences clear.

Even if only as a flower, Raph would have lived on. Whatever method Mikey's lab had used, left him dying. Second, they'd been able to take Raph's mutagen back from the Creep. This lab had somehow tainted Mikey's, meaning that returning it to him wasn't an option. Assuming that Donnie could reverse engineer the process, Mikey would need a mutagen donation from his brothers. He'd give it all if it meant that Mikey would be okay.

Leo sensed someone approach and, even though his mind was distracted, his body reacted instinctively, snapping his head up and tensing for a fight. It was one of the new allies who'd come with his family to rescue him and Karai. The man with the two-handed, great sword.

"If you've got a minute, I'd like a word."

He wanted to scream 'No! My little brother is dying! Leave me alone!' but knew he didn't have the luxury of a tantrum right now.

"Sure." He let Karai pull the tablet away, noting how Faraji barely gave her a brief nod before focusing back on Leo. That was no small mistake. Karai was extremely perceptive and Faraji had just provided her ample opportunity to scrutinize. Knowing, he would get a full and detailed report of her observations on the exchange later, Leo attempted to give them man his full attention.

"You're the leader, Leonardo, right?"

His stomach clenched. If that were true, he'd never have allowed Mikey to be taken. Somehow he would have found a way to prevent it. To protect him.

"Yes, I am."

"I am Faraji. To some extent, I lead the acolytes of the Tribunal, such as we are."

There was something in Faraji's bitter smile as he spoke that made Leo ashamed of his own self-pity. Enough. He needed to quit sulking and trust Donnie to figure it out. Donnie always came through and this time would be no different. Instead of wallowing, he needed to be pulling his own weight for the team. And that started with the acknowledgement of their new comrades.

"Acolytes of the Tribunal?"

Faraji sighed and Leo suspected it was far from the first time he'd had to explain this recently.

"Yes. There are three others. The blond woman is Joi Reynard. The large man is Adam Mckay. And the swordsman is Tora Yoshida."

Leo nodded at each name. "Our clan appreciates your aid. Don't take this the wrong way, but why did you help us?"

Faraji's eyes hardened in determination and he crossed his arms. "We did it in the hopes of recruiting you."

Leo startled. That was not what he'd been expecting. "Recruit us for what?"

"The Tribunal. There are so few of us left. We need more skilled agents."

Leo's eyes narrowed in calculation. "What exactly is the Tribunal and what does it do?"

"The short answer is that, empowered by the pantheons of old, we protect the world from supernatural threats."

For a moment Leo was speechless. When he did eventually find his voice, it sounded strained, even to him. "The Tribunal is made up of old gods?"

Faraji barked out a brief laugh. "No. They have retreated from the world. The Tribunal is made up of extraordinary people, imbued with their remnants."

"Are you four the Tribunal then?"

"No. We are given some power, but the bulk rests with actual Tribunal. The acolytes are the Tribunals agents in the world."

Leo frowned thoughtfully. "So where do the people who make up the Tribunal come from? Are they brought up from the ranks of the acolytes?"

Faraji shrugged. "Sometimes. Sometimes, when a member of the Tribunal dies or retires, the position is merely offered to someone worthy. The only requirements are that they be exceptional and willing. It is no small responsibility."

Leo nodded, understanding that more than he'd ever thought he'd want to. "And you protect the world?"

"We do. Or we did. There aren't really enough of us left to be effective."

"And you offered your help to my family in exchange for service?"

Faraji shook his head. "No. Just that you'd hear us out and consider it." Leo gestured for him to continue. "If you become acolytes, part of the power of the old gods will be given to you. With it, you would be able to sense disturbances in the natural order of the world and go to face them. The energy you receive will bring into existence a spirit guide to aid you and enhance traits, essential to who you are. You would also be expected to train with the Tribunal, although from what I've seen of your family, that might be an enticement rather than a burden."

Leo couldn't help but crack a smile at that, his first one since hearing about Mikey. "True. Although I'm not sure I understand the rest."

Now Faraji's smile was genuine. A spectral lion illuminated by his side, making Leo involuntarily jump back.

"My avatar is the lion. With it I have enhanced stealth and leadership."

The regal beast faded and Leo had to admit that was pretty awesome.

"Joi's avatar is the hawk, empowering her speed and fearlessness. Adam's is the bear, granting him strength and determination. And Tora's is the wolf, which strengthens his teamwork and loyalty. They bring out the best in who we are."

Leo actively tempered his awe. "And in exchange you serve the Tribunal?"

"We do."

He wasn't too keen on losing the right to call his own shots. Especially when it involved his family. But a bargain had been made.

"When our family is whole again. We will discuss it."

Faraji nodded. "I understand. There is a lot to consider, with the invasion looming."

Leo paused and frowned. Was that some kind of veiled threat? With Faraji's impassive expression, he couldn't be sure.

"What does that mean? Are you not fighting the invasion with us? That doesn't seem to fit with people who consider themselves guardians of the world."

Faraji appeared stunned for a moment before his jaw clenched in suppressed anger.

"Of course we are fighting. And even if we weren't guardians with you as prospective recruits, we'd still fight. If you truly ended the Kraang invasion we would owe you that much. I merely meant that possessing the powers of acolytes might be a useful resource for you and yours in this fight."

Oh. Leo could see that.

Wait! What did he say about the Kraang invasion? "What does the Tribunal have to do with the Kraang?"

Faraji took a deep steadying breath. "Since it counts as a potential risk of joining our order, you should know. The Kraang have hunted us down for almost as long as we can remember. Amid our normal duties, we've often had to fight off ambushes and other such individual assaults.

"But the invasion three years ago…that's why there are so few of us. They used Shenlong to lure all of us to the city and trapped us there with the invasion. Adam, Joi, Tora and I are the only survivors and if you broke the invasion then we might have you to thank for that. We could not have held out indefinitely."

That revelation startled Leo. Now that he'd thought about it, despite the setbacks he and his family had delivered to the Kraang, they'd been ready to invade for a long while and seemed to have been biding time, testing new weapons, technology and mutagen. Waiting for something. An opportunity maybe.

That the invasion had coincided with Shenlong's escape from the mirror and had focused on one single city without much great concern for expansion couldn't be a coincidence. It had been a trap. For the Tribunal. But how and why?

"Given the experience my family and I have had with the Kraang, I'm surprised, even with the invasion, that they were able to take down so many acolytes. You seem very capable."

Faraji grimaced. "They had machines, specifically for seeking us out. If any of us ever came to close, they would literally rip our life force from our bodies."

Leo's eyes widened. "To kill you?"

Faraji scowled. "It certainly did that, but no. To harvest. They collected and kept our energy, but for what purpose, I have no idea."

Leo chewed his lower lip thoughtfully. Whether or not he and his family joined the Tribunal, they were going to have to look into this. What Faraji had told him might be the key to understanding why the Kraang so specifically targeted Earth for such a long time. It warranted investigation. Assuming they all survived the next few weeks.

"Thank you Faraji. We will consider your offer."


	81. Chapter 80: Hero Worship VI

**Hero Worship VI:**

Shadow lay in the back seat cringing at every bump as Irma's ancient vehicle of some unfamiliar European make wheezed its way through the streets of New York. She made a mental note to ask her dad to have a look at it in case there was ever a need to pack into the tiny little clown car ever again. She wasn't that big and her legs were still crunched up, straining her sore body despite the handful of generic brand pain meds she'd downed at Irma's apartment.

Although she should probably consider herself lucky. Keno sat ramrod straight in the front passenger seat, bracing himself with both arms against the vehicle's frame to diminish the impact of the car jostling his own injuries. Surely her dad could swing Irma some kind of shock absorption.

The vehicle mercifully came to a halt and Shadow released a sigh of relief. With a moan, she pulled herself upright and began to struggle her way out of the car. A few minutes of wrestling with the handle and she hit her limit. Ignoring the pain, Shadow coiled up her legs and kicked the jammed piece of metal open.

She'd just made it out to the sidewalk when Walt rounded the corner on his bike and her heart did a little flip flop. The past couple days had been full of the most intense and sappy texting of her life.

Granted, there wasn't much competition as the Dragons, the Turtles and her brother were the only other people she'd ever really texted, but right now she doubted anything in the future could top it. Sure they hadn't been together long, and technically hadn't said that they were officially together yet, but she'd borne her soul to him in a flurry of emojis and non-grammatically sanctioned abbreviations and felt closer to him than she'd ever felt to anyone before.

His face lit up at the sight of her until he noticed the state she was in. Dropping his bike, he rushed over. "Oh my God! Are you ok? What happened?"

She didn't even want to imagine what she must look like to him at the moment, dirty, ragged and covered in adhesive bandages. "I've been better." Drawing on her delight at seeing him, she managed a weak smile. "As for how I ended up like this, we'd probably better wait for Cait and Zach."

He nodded solemnly, suddenly awkward. "Do you want any help getting inside? Not that I think you need help, but…"

She could feel a more genuine smile pulling at the corners of her mouth. He was adorable.

"You should probably get your bike. Better walk it all the way through the shop and leave it in the hallway unless you want April's dad to sell it. Then I wouldn't mind having someone to lean on going up the stairs."

He grinned and dashed off to retrieve his bike as she pushed her way into the shop and navigated the maze of junk towards the employee-only area in back. Keno and Irma were probably already upstairs by now.

The steps had never seemed so long. Who'd have thought a near death experience would be so exhausting. Then Walt was dragging his bike into the hallway and shoving it against the railing.

"Wow there's a lot of stuff in there.

"Yeah, between Mr. O'Neil and Donnie, they produce more than they can ever possibly sell and that's not counting the stuff that people pawn here."

Walt scrunched up his face in thought. "Donnie? He's the smart turtle in the purple mask?"

She smiled. "Yeah. Don't worry. After you've spent some time with the guys, you'll wonder how you ever could have mixed them up."

His eyes shifted nervously at the mention of hanging out with the turtles and she frowned.

"I know it's a little crazy at first. But they're like four extra big brothers and I can't imagine my life without them. Please give them a chance."

Walt flushed and responded with a dazed nod.

Satisfied that all the pieces of her life would soon fit seamlessly together, she leaned into him, relishing the sensation and smell as he wrapped an arm around her waist and helped her to the top of the stairs. Now the steps didn't seem long enough and too soon they were at the landing with him releasing her.

Trying not to dwell on the loss of his warmth, she pushed the apartment door open and let out a strangled 'urk' as she was caught in a crushing hug.

"I was so worried. What happened?"

She tapped her dad's arm frantically and he released her.

"This qualifies as being ok?" He didn't even wait for her answer as he all but carried her over to the couch. Mr. O'Neil approached with his usual twitchy apprehension, holding a mug of hot cocoa in his nervous hands.

"April always…"

"Thanks Mr. O'Neil." She gratefully accepted the beverage and tried to ignore her dad's scrutiny while Walt took the open couch space on her other side. Keno and Irma had crowded into a single recliner, with Irma on his lap, to keep the other recliner open for Mr. O'Neil on the off chance that he would ever sit down.

Despite his injuries, she doubted Keno minded much. There was no way she'd be that bold with Walt while her dad was seated right next to her. She liked him far too much to subject him to her father's overprotective suspicion. Right now, he was focused on her wounds.

"Well. I'm waiting for answers young lady."

"I…"

"Hey is anyone here?" Voices drifted up into the apartment from the store below.

"Take the stairs at the back of the shop up." Her dad flinched back as she answered loud enough for Cait to hear her response. Moments later, a curious Zach and disgruntled Cait tromped in.

"What is the emergency?" Why was Cait so…oh right. Her date. That was unfortunate. Cait's ire dropped down a few notches as she took in Shadow and Keno's condition. Her dad was frowning at the new arrivals.

"Uh, ok. So dad, you know Irma and that's her boyfriend Keno. These are my school friends Walt, Cait and Zach. Everyone, this is my dad and Mr. O'Neil, a friend of the family."

Her dad crossed his arms. "You're stalling."

He was right. As much as she wanted to lay this out for her team, the idea of telling her father held a lot less appeal. Might as well dive right in.

"Do you remember that guy that Angel ousted to take control of the Purple Dragons?"

Her dad's eyes narrowed. While he was intensely proud of how her big sis had reformed one of New York's most dangerous gangs, he had always been understandably uncomfortable with his children's involvement in the organization. He only nodded in response to her question.

"Well, I think he's back and booted Keno and I out. He calls himself Hun."

Her father went stock still and the room seemed to drop a few degrees in temperature. "He did this to you?"

She nodded.

"And no one stopped him?"

"Keno did. Sort of. It would have been a lot worse. We barely made it out of there. I've never fought anyone like him. He's…I don't know if we can take him with everyone gone."

Her dad's eyes widened in fear and anger. "You plan on going back?"

Her free hand balled up into a fist and she looked away from him. "We have to. Because of Angel everyone trusts the Dragons now. And this guy…he's gonna…a lot of people are going to get hurt if we don't stop him immediately."

She could see the war of emotion play across her father's face as his desire to protect her conflicted with the guilt of his past.

"So, this is just about ordinary gang violence?" At Mr. O'Neil's words she glanced up at him and nodded. He exhaled and sagged against the end of the couch. 'That's a relief." It took him a moment to notice how oddly everyone was staring at him. "I mean it's awful too. Just terrible. But…not aliens, right?"

She just shook her head and turned back to her dad. "I can't let this happen."

He frowned. "If this guy is as good as you say…"

"That's why we need Zach."

Zach jerked to attention as everyone turned to look at him. "Me?"

Shadow nodded. "In a head on assault, we will lose. We aren't powerful enough for a direct confrontation. But with a clever plan, we might have an edge."

Zach began to grin as he absorbed her words. As she suspected, this was right up his alley.

"Well, I'll need to know what everyone participating can do and the layout of the place we're taking on."

Shadow cast her gaze back to Mr. O'Neil, who wilted a bit at the attention. "We need something for everyone to write on and write with." He ducked his head and shuffled off.

"Everyone?" Keno's voice called her attention back.

Unyielding, she met his gaze. "Everyone."

"But…"

Irma cut him off. "You'd better not be suggesting that I sit this out."

Obviously, that'd been exactly what he was suggesting, but at her tone, daring him to challenge her, he quickly shifted stance.

"Of course not, but Mr. O'Neil seems a little…twitchy."

He was right. There was no way Shadow could drag April's dad into this. But she was in charge and unwilling to lose completely.

"He's contributing planning materials and a base of operations." Keno rolled his eyes as Mr. O'Neil returned with a stack of index cards and some pencils that he quickly distributed.

"Ok. List whatever you think you can do that will be useful and hand them to Zach. Oh and Mr. O'Neil, do you have something larger, like a legal pad, for Keno to draw a diagram of the warehouse on?"

"What? Why me?" Keno sputtered.

She smirked. "Still second-in-command."

He scowled but didn't argue.

She looked back at Mr. O'Neil who gave her a wan smile. "Of course."

It didn't take her long to jot down her relevant skill set and toss her card into the pile that Zach was spreading out on the floor.

He looked up at her. "It would help if we had an inside man…"

She winced, relatively certain that no one would have the guts to stand up to Hun after the beating he'd served her and Keno. Except…

"Crusher might?"

Zach quirked an eyebrow up at her. "Crusher?"

She shrugged. "The name is a work in progress. He's got an online poll on his FriendFace page to choose the most awesome gang name for himself." Zach snorted and she didn't comment. When Casey had sent Timothy over to the dragons, Angel was livid, but Shadow had appreciated his enthusiasm.

"Who is this guy?"

She grinned. "Someone crazy enough to risk Hun's wrath helping us. Isn't that all you need?"

Zach chuckled and nodded. "Yes. Alright, listen up everyone. I've got an idea of how we can do this."


	82. Chapter 81: Birthright III

**Birthright III:**

Ichiro was floating, drifting in a dreamlike state. The last thing he could recall was initiating his rebirth, but even that was hazy and uncertain, obscured by a cloud of pain, anger and violence.

The fog parted and out of stepped a figure dressed like a nochi-shite from a Noh play, it's mask changing expression with each deliberate tilt of its head. The voice seemed to echo from all directions, as though spoken by a chorus surrounding him.

"This is how you visualize me? I must say, I preferred Sack's version."

With great effort, Ichiro focused on the figure despite the distractions fighting to disassemble his mind. "What are you?"

The mask tilted downward, transforming the distressed frown into an eerie smile. "I am Null, your possible salvation."

"Salvation?" Did he need to be saved? It was so hard to grasp at his fleeting thoughts.

Laughter assaulted him from all sides. "You very much do."

Had he asked that question aloud? He couldn't remember.

"Gokomodo-san. Your mind is shattered and the feral beast that is what's left of your body is dying at this very moment. Do you want your life? Do you want your sentience?"

Did he? With great concentration, he managed to recall an overpowering desire. For power. For transcendence. The image of a fierce and beautiful woman danced across his vision bringing to mind the image of a flower. He wanted it. Desperately.

"Yes."

Null drifted closer, near enough to block out all else in his vision. "My aid comes at a price. Are you certain?"

"Yes. Any price is worth it."

"Then we have a bargain." Null thrust its hands into his chest and he screamed as the fire immolated him from the inside out.

* * *

Dr. Sato ran her hands through her hair in frustration, knowing that the battle was lost as her medical team struggled to revive the beast that had once been their patron. She could kiss goodbye to her amazingly well paying, high profile job. He'd been flatlining too long and his injuries were just too severe. Gokomodo-san was dead. She might as well call it.

Then his body stiffened and began convulsing. When he finally stilled, the heart monitor was beeping in steady, solid rhythm. She pushed passed her subordinates to examine him. The injuries were all still there, but not quite so bad, as though the mortal edge had been stripped away, leaving them all as lucky near misses of their worst case scenarios. That wasn't right. How was it possible? He was dead. He should be dead.

"Dr. Sato, what should we do?"

Well if he was alive, then she still had a job.

"Treat the injuries and move him to ICU."


	83. Chapter 82: Identity III

**Identity III:**

The moment the plane landed at the EDF's private airstrip, the psychic monkey could hardly wait to dart out on his bizarre, round hover-disc. None of the others hesitated to follow him.

Sharing a nervous glance with Carter, she turned away before he could see her cheeks burning and rushed after the others, pushing to her top speed to catch up. Carter easily fell into pace beside her, as impressive an athlete as he appeared. She almost tripped as her unruly mind wondered what other promises that physique could fulfill.

Mentally slapping herself, she refocused on her mission. This was not the time or the place. They needed to save that innocent turtle-boy, Mikey, whom she'd carelessly doomed. Selfish musings could wait until she'd fixed her mistake, although she wasn't sure exactly what she could do to help.

After several turns down unfamiliar hallways, hurrying past gaping military personnel, they finally burst into a lab and her jaw fell open. Around an apparatus, eerily familiar to the one that she'd last seen Mikey in, stood another turtle-boy, this one in a purple mask, an old hippie in a lab coat and an honest-to-God robot man.

Like the monkey-man, Rockwell, the turtle was spouting gibberish into…was that a turtle shaped phone? Simultaneously, they seemed to realize that they could talk to each other directly and lowered the devices. In a flurried mix of talking over each other and finishing each other's sentences they resumed their indecipherable discussion.

Hippie scientist glared over at the rest of them. "If you can't help, leave. We don't need spectators."

As they awkwardly milled out of the lab and back into the hallway, her heart sank. She'd waited the whole flight over and now she had to wait some more. There was nothing for her to do. Frustrated, her hands balled into fists. Then a heavy hand rested on her shoulder. Startled, she looked up into Carter's chocolate-brown eyes. The right edge of his mouth curved up into an encouraging smile.

"It will be ok."

Unsure of how to respond, she just started up at his sculpted features. The moment broke as he shivered, reminding her of just how much else there was to see.

"Maybe we can pass the time, finding some clothes for you."

Rubbing his arms, he ducked his head sheepishly. "That sounds like a great idea."

As disappointing as it would be to cover all that up, she did look forward to being able to think straight again. Despite everything that was going on, she managed a smile. "Come on then. I'm sure we can find someone to help us."


	84. Chapter 83: Professional IV

**Professional IV:**

Aditi scrolled through the Fugitoid's information on her tablet, knowing that Bishop would soon be taking suggestions on how the impending apocalypse might be averted. Right now, it was hard to come up with anything more than a resigned sense that the Earth was screwed.

The door opened and a troop of unfamiliar mutants filed in.

The massive turtle groused as he leaned against the wall. "So what are we supposed to do now."

The fox-woman laid a gentle hand on his bulky arm. "Dr. Rockwell has it covered. There's nothing he and Donatello can't solve together. And Candy's meeting with Director Bishop to find out what is going on with the threat he mentioned over the phone."

The turtle scowled. "Shouldn't he be meeting with me? I'm the team leader."

The fox smiled. "Because those conversations have always gone so well in the past?"

The turtle snorted. "Point taken."

The fox leaned her head on his arm. "We'll get through this."

"I know. I just…I don't know. I'd rather be doing something. Anything."

The fox nodded absently. "We could get something to eat at the commissary. Pete was already dragging Mondo and Leatherhead there although I doubt they were hungry."

The turtle sighed. "I'm not hungry either. What ever happened to Pimiko? Shouldn't we be keeping an eye on her? It's not as though she's trustworthy."

Aditi froze at the mention of her daughter's name. Pimiko was here? Now? The shock faded into relief at the realization that her child was safe.

The fox shrugged. "Carter's with her. I think they were looking for the quartermaster to get Carter some new clothing."

The turtle snorted. "Good."

The fox woman chuckled a little. "Well I thought they were cute. Come on. You'll feel better once we find Raph."

At that the turtle brightened and pushed off the wall to follow the fox out of the room.

Aditi's mind whirred. Who was this Carter that her daughter was so cute with? She would need to find out. But first she needed to see Pimiko. She wouldn't truly be at ease until she'd laid eyes on her child, safe and sound.

Setting down her tablet, she stood and headed out of the planning room, catching Saki's odd look in her direction as she exited. He still elicited a confusing swirl of emotion in her every time she shared his presence, not the least complicated by the knowledge that he'd raised another young woman as his own.

It was irrational to feel resentment at that on Pimiko's behalf. He didn't even know of his true daughter's existence and the fault for that lay with her. Clamping a lid on the useless cycle of thought that threatened her composure, she focused instead on navigating the most efficient route to the quartermaster's offices.

And there Pimiko was, standing outside the stockroom, adjusting the lapels of an EDF uniform over the very solid frame of a young black man. The way their gazes locked as Pimiko looked up at him, reminding her that her daughter was now a grown woman and she was abruptly hit with a pang of loss over her little girl blending with pride at the woman she'd become. Then Pimiko turned and saw her.

"Mother!"

She ran forward and caught her daughter in a hug, reminding her that, grown woman or not, Pimiko would always be her daughter.

"That's right. With everything, I forgot you were on a job here."

That startled Aditi. She pulled back to look at Pimiko. "Then what are you doing here?"

Her daughter's eyes glazed over with unshed tears. "I screwed up."

"What?"

"I took a job for Gokomodo-san."

Aditi's lips pursed in annoyance that he would hire her child for a mission without first consulting her, but wisely kept her thoughts to herself. "What did you do?"

"I kidnapped a mutant turtle. It was wrong. I shouldn't have done it. That poor boy."

The sentiment echoed her mixed feelings over Karai's capture, but she tried to stay on track. "Why would Gokomodo-san want a mutant turtle?"

Pimiko tensed in her arms. "Gokomodo-san wanted his mutagen and was willing to kill him to take it."

Now Aditi was lost. "Mutagen? Why?"

Pimiko's scowl turned bitter. "To transform himself into a dragon. Mother he's insane. He wanted to found a new race of dragons with you and me. He had me and he almost…" Pimiko's voice trailed off as she flinched away from the memory.

As Aditi processed what he daughter said, her blood quickly rose to a boil. That bastard! She'd trusted him and he'd…when she next saw him, she would kill him. Slowly. For now, she needed to see to Pimiko. "But you're ok? He didn't hurt you?"

Pimiko shook her head, clearly willing back tears. "No. It was close. But Carter and the Mutanimals saved me."

With a sigh of relief, she pulled Pimiko back into another embrace. She owed those saviors a great debt.

Sensing movement approaching them, she looked back the way she'd come to see Saki rounding the corner and cringed. Uh oh. Her worlds were colliding.

His eyes widened at the sight of them, despite the scars, and she knew he must be noting the resemblance between her and Pimiko. She could almost hear his mental calculations as he evaluated Pimiko's age.

"Aditi, could I have a word with you?"

His voice still sent pleasant shivers down her spine. Good lord, it had been decades. Why? She took a deep breath and released her daughter. It was time to fess up.

"Of course Saki." Turning back to her daughter. "I'll be right back."

Pimiko nodded and stepped away. Steeling herself for the coming admission, she followed Saki into a nearby office.


	85. Chapter 84: Atonement III

**Atonement III:**

Strangely enough, having an overwhelming invasion to deal with was something of a relief. Assessing how their resources might be best spent to win this, because he would win this, helped distract Saki from the mess that was his own life.

Some of the distrustful uncomprehending stares had been alleviated when the news about the childish, orange turtle had broken, causing Yoshi's turtles and many of their allies to scatter from the crisis center.

He'd had enough of the awkward, unspeaking peace between him, Yoshi and Amaya anyway. Though it wasn't as piercing as the puzzled glances Karai kept sending him. But if they were having trouble comprehending his actions, it was his own fault. He'd created those expectations by his own actions. Actions he didn't entirely understand himself, although he had his suspicions.

Looking back, his clearest memories were of that argument with Yoshi in front of Shen, who, if he'd been paying better attention at the time he would have noticed, had been utterly fed up with them both.

Upon learning of their romance, he'd felt so furious and betrayed that he'd said a great many things in anger which he hadn't truly meant. Now, with the distance of decades between himself and the incident, he could admit that Yoshi managed more forbearance than he would have, were their roles reversed.

He'd been asking to be decked and should not have been so surprised when he'd finally pushed his brother over the edge. But his younger self had managed to be surprised when Yoshi absolutely lost it, even though he'd been intentionally pressing his buttons, knowing exactly where to drive each barb.

Yes, he'd been furious at the time, but it was one of countless ongoing conflicts in their sibling rivalry. But they'd always found a way back to each other before. Until Kitsune had shown up.

He'd always thought that learning about his own history had torn his adoptive family bonds to shreds. But after relatively recent events, he now noticed that things had gone sideways when he'd accepted that damn helm from her.

The years between donning it and casting it aside were swallowed up in a red haze of hate and fury that tainted his past, overwhelmed his present and ruined his future. Only brief moments spent with Amaya and Karai had offered respite from the all-consuming rage that drove him, not unlike a drowning man breaking his head above the water for a desperate gasp of air.

Free of the Kabuto's influence he could look back upon his life with a clear head and see every self-destructive, bad decision in crystal clarity. The question of how much was the helm and how much was him refusing to face what he'd done still haunted him.

Now, surrounded by the broken pieces that remained of all his relationships, he knew he'd have to address their confusion and distrust sooner or later if he was to salvage anything. Probably after the invasion, should they survive it. No victory was without cost after all.

And so he focused on planning, relieved for the moment that most of the room had emptied out after the Fugitoid's presentation. Of the few that remained, was Aditi, who he didn't mind as her presence had the same calming effect it did in his youth.

The thoughtful silence was broken when the Mutanimal turtle and Ninjara entered the room. Vaguely recalling that the EDF had acquired those mutants as agents years ago, he assumed they'd been called in to fight the coming aliens and tuned out their prattle in favor of the planning that spared his mind from darker, more introspective thoughts.

That was until he noted Aditi zeroing in on the conversation and standing to leave immediately after they exited. Something was amiss with her. Curious and not inclined to dismiss such inconsistencies as irrelevant, he set his tablet down and followed her, careful not to attract her attention. It wasn't an easy task, but well within his abilities.

He could hear voices, Aditi's and another woman's. Young by the sound of it.

"But you're ok? He didn't hurt you?"

"No. It was close. But Carter and the Mutanimals saved me."

He rounded the corner and froze. In her arms, Aditi held a younger version of herself. Except for the shape of her eyes and some of the bone architecture of her face. That hinted at…Japanese descent? Estimating her age as late teens or early twenties, a startling possibility occurred to him. But surely, she would have told him. He'd had the right to know. And yet the age and resemblance…

"Aditi, could I have a word with you?"

Her expression glazed over into a neutral mask, hiding her true thoughts and feelings as he voiced his question.

"Of course Saki." She turned back towards the young woman, keeping her voice as indecipherable as her face. "I'll be right back."

The girl nodded and stepped away.

Trying to suppress the volatile mix of emotion that threatened to erupt like a volcano, he turned and stalked into the nearest office, waiting as Aditi followed, closing the door behind her. He grew impatient as she considered her words.

"Who is she Aditi?"

Aditi managed a wan smile. "Pimiko."

A Japanese name? He was almost certain, but he needed to hear her say it. "Your daughter?"

Aditi nodded slowly.

"And…"

Her reluctant expression morphed into one of determination. "And yours."

He'd known it, but it still hit like gut punch. There were so many things he wanted to say or yell that they all collided into silence before they could make it out. The empty pause stretched into awkwardness and he clenched his fists in order to regain his self-mastery, remembering too late the knife wound to his palm. That was fine. Right now the pain was helping to ground him. Finally, he decided that what he wanted more than anything else at the moment was an explanation.

"Well?"

She took a deep, slow breath before speaking. "Secret ninja clan or not, I suppose that I could have found you and told you."

He snorted. "You of all people most definitely could have. So why didn't you?"

"Uncertainty seemed preferable to outright rejection or worse, honor-driven pity."

For a moment he was stunned. Was that what she really thought of him? It was bitter knowledge, compounded by the realization that he hadn't been anticipating the lack of faith from her. From everyone else he'd earned it, but Aditi?

"That is how you expected me to react to learning about my daughter?"

Her expression softened to wistful sadness. "What else could there been? I was but a passing moment, knowing full well that you loved another woman. Somehow I doubted that me showing up with your illegitimate child would have helped your case in winning your lady love."

His heart clenched as their one-night-stand surged to the fore of his mind, only slightly blurred by his intoxication at the time. Yes, he'd poured out all his lamentations over Shen to her first. Of course he had. Another foolish decision to add to his collection. What idiot spent hours professing love for one woman before bedding another. Looking back, he couldn't believe that she'd let him.

How different would his life have been if he hadn't let her leave that following morning. If he'd pursued her instead. But there was no sense wasting time on what ifs and what might have been. That wasn't his life and the rage at Yoshi and obsession with Shen had still been in full control of him then. No, as much as he would have preferred it now, his past could not have played out differently. He'd given her every reason to believe their tryst meant nothing. So there was no point in being surprised at her avoidance.

Clearly, she was waiting for him to say something, anything, but at the moment, he had nothing to offer her. Her sadness deepened. "I heard you raised another girl."

"Karai." The whispered name came unbidden to his lips. Yes, he supposed she would have known about Karai. That was probably why she'd given him that file in the first place.

She looked away. "I should have told you."

"I should have given you a reason to." Her head snapped back, eyes locking onto his face with a breathtaking intensity. For a moment he thought she might reach out to him and, despite his earlier determination to keep things professional, he would have welcomed it. But a flicker of uncertainty in her eyes broke the moment and he reminded himself of what was important right now.

"I want to meet her Aditi."

She offered him a genuine smile. "Yes. I think it's past time you did."


	86. Chapter 85: Identity IV

**Identity IV:**

"Maybe he's just someone your mom knows from work. I mean he's got an EDF uniform and you said she contracts with them a lot. I still can't believe your mom is some kind of freelance, super spy."

Pimiko laughed for what felt like the first time in forever. "Really? After how we met?"

Carter returned her smile. "Yeah, I guess that puts everything else in perspective. Uh…I was wondering, you know, when all this is over, if maybe you wanted to hang out some time."

She almost responded with 'How's that going to work? We live on opposite sides of the world' until she wondered if that was even true anymore. She was never going back to Gokomodo-san's refuge. So where would she end up? Maybe anywhere she wanted.

She reached out and took his hand, causing his smile to morph into a dopey grin. "Yeah, I'd like that."

Then Pimiko's mother and her crispy friend exited the room that they'd retreated to and started heading back her way. When she caught the man's eye, her breath stopped and all derisive thoughts fled. There was something in his presence that commanded respect, killing all the snide comments that had been waiting on the tip of her tongue. Who was he?

Her mother turned to Carter. "Could you give us a minute?"

He rubbed the back of his neck, nervously, also thrown off balance by the mans' presence it seemed. "Uh, sure."

Carter turned back to Pimiko. "I'll meet you in the commissary later?"

She nodded and he flashed her smile before taking off. As she watched him go, she could hear her mother speaking to the man. "Just you so know, that boy saved Pimiko from being horribly mutated, so cut him some slack."

She whipped around to scream at her mother for sharing her personal business with just anyone, but froze when she saw how the man had gone rigid with fury at her mother's comment.

Her mother eyed him thoughtfully before adding "between the EDF's Japan-based, mutant division and that young man, the threat has been eliminated."

The man released a breath and relaxed slightly. "Then I suppose I owe him a debt of gratitude."

Her mother smiled. "Which you can repay by cutting him some slack."

Pimiko was growing increasingly fed up with their conversation, which seemed to include her though she wasn't sure what they were talking about. She still couldn't quite bring herself to be blatantly rude or sarcastic. There was still something about the burnt man that warned her off of it.

Then her mother turned back towards her with absolute seriousness. "Pimiko, there's something you need to know." She raised a questioning eyebrow, waiting for her mother to continue.

"This is your father. Oroku Saki." Her mother gestured towards the man beside her.

Pimiko stood dumbfounded as her brain struggle to process her mother's revelation. How? When? Why? She'd always wanted, needed to know. As though there had always been a piece her identity missing. She'd been waiting for this moment her entire life and now that it was here, she had no idea what to do with it. He was nothing like she'd imagined.

"I'll give you two some space." Pimiko wanted to scream at her mother to wait as she turned and walked away, but no sound came out. The silence stretched between them as she watched warily, wondering how this scarred, intimidating creature could be her father. To his credit, he seemed marginally less confident than he'd been a moment ago, but was still undaunted and awaiting her reaction.

Unfortunately, she had nothing to give but gaping disbelief. No. This wasn't how this was supposed to be. He wasn't who her father was supposed to be. She started to back way. "Oroku-san, I…" She paused as he frowned at her words. She was trying to be respectful as she extricated herself from the situation. Why couldn't he just let her go?

Then a young woman stepped around the corridor. She had short, two-toned hair, naturally black on top and dyed blonde underneath. Her makeup was sharp, and colorful, vaguely reminding Pimiko of a kabuki actor. But she wasn't human. Her skin bore a slightly reptilian texture and her eyes were the strangest shade of green with a vertically slit pupil.

Oroku-san tensed up warily as the woman approached.

She smiled, revealing two long, serpentine fangs. "I'm sure it was rude of me to eavesdrop, but I really couldn't help myself." There was the slightest hiss in the sound of her s's as she spoke. "So you're Pimiko then? I'm you're sister Karai."

Pimiko's jaw fell open as her body automatically reached out to accept Karai's offered hand.

"I…" She had more family? When had this happened?

Karai smirked, an expression that seemed to fit naturally on her face. "Despite how he seems, he can be a good father. It's worth it to give him a chance."

Behind Karai, Oroku Saki's eyes widened in shock and the hint of a smile came to his face. Karai didn't see it as she was still fixated on Pimiko.

"I've got to go, but I promise, we'll talk later."

Pimiko nodded numbly. Karai released her hand and paused uncertainly in front of their father, before turning and walking away. For a moment, they both watched her go.

She was the first to break the silence. "So, Karai?"

He glanced back at her. "Yes. She is my daughter…as are you."

Pimiko closed her eyes and took a deep breath as she internalized the knowledge. These two strangers were family now. But they didn't need to remain strangers. Not if she gave them a chance.

"There is much I would like to know and I presume you have many questions as well. Come. We will sit and I will tell you anything you wish to know."

For the first time since the revelation hit, she managed a precarious yes smile.

"Yes father. I'd like that."


	87. Chapter 86: Players and Pawns IV

**Players and Pawns IV:**

Eric drifted into his office, in a fugue-like state, walking around his desk and yanking the bottom left drawer open hard enough to toppled the small plaque, engraved 'Dr. Sacks' from its place at the end of the blotter. These episodes were becoming disturbingly frequent, but there was nothing he could do, but comply. He was powerless against the compulsion.

From the drawer, he pulled out a catalog envelope, internally lined with bubble wrap, and placed it on the desk. Slipping the stone amulet over his head, he sealed it in the envelope and hastily scrawled an unfamiliar name and address on the front. As he rose to go mail it, he could help but wonder who Dr. Oscar Chaplin was.


	88. Chapter 87: Defiant VI

**Defiant VI:**

 _Renet sat at the kitchen table, watching Ice Cream Kitty lean into Mikey's fingertips, smearing the Neapolitan with each stroke as the rumbling purrs burbled up out of the layers of frozen sugar. She reached out and traced one of her own fingers behind the feline's frozen ears, licking the ice cream off her fingertip afterwards._

 _"I wonder who she was before she was Ice Cream Kitty?"_

 _Mikey laughed. "That's easy. She totally had an awesome name before, but I had to change it after she mutated."_

 _At the sink, April snorted as she rinsed out her mug. "Mikey, she mutated less than five minutes after I brought her over. How could you have named her?"_

 _Mikey crossed his arms, inadvertently spreading ice cream across his chest and side and sent her mock glare._

 _She sighed and rolled her eyes. "Never mind. I forgot who I was talking to for a moment."_

 _Mikey grinned. "That's right. I am the name master."_

 _Renet gave Ice Cream Kitty another pet. "So what was her first name then?"_

 _Mikey resumed stroking the icy feline. "Well, since she was knocking over a bunch of stuff in Donnie's lab…"_

 _"Hey!" Donnie glared up from his coffee mug._

 _Mikey laughed. "Oh relax D. It was forever ago. I'm sure you've fixed everything she broke by now."_

 _Donnie looked like he wanted to argue, but was unable to come up with an appropriate response. Mikey frequently had that effect on his brothers._

 _"Anyway, since she was knocking into everything in D's lab, I decided to call her Klunk. Then she powered up to Ice Cream Kitty."_

 _Renet stroked the cat again. "I bet you were an awesome Klunk."_

 _Donnie muttered something under his breath and Mikey laughed._

 _"Like a kitty do."_

Renet's eyes fluttered open as she pulled out the memory, feeling her panic abate. She wanted to be completely calm and collected when she took him back.

Currently, she was curled up on her bed in Null-Time, with an unconscious Mikey sprawled across her lap. He looked so frail and lifeless that the wrongness of it had stuck with her even after they'd completed the rescue mission. She wished he would wake up and reassure her, but knew that could never happen. Not even if nothing was wrong.

He'd need power from one of the Timelings to fully interact with Null-Time and without it would simply pause in his existence upon entering the realm. While that was technically his salvation, it still unnerved her.

So she'd immersed herself in her most treasured memories of time spent with him instead. At least her heart didn't feel like it was going to jump out of her chest anymore. She could do this. They could do this.

Wrapping her arms tightly around his shell, she took a deep breath and searched for the moment. The location. The time and place she needed to bring them too in order to save him.

Technically this was stretching the rules against time manipulation to their limits. She hadn't actually changed existing events in the time stream, but there would be consequences for Mikey's absence in the continuum. Hopefully they wouldn't be too far reaching. And hopefully Lord S wouldn't blow a gasket when he found out. Fat chance of that though. Whatever. This was worth it. He was worth it.

Opening the portal on the surface of the bed, she let them fall through it. As the portal slowly closed behind her, several small time fissures split open around the edges of her room. They almost immediately began to seal, but before the final one closed, a Timeling darted through it.

* * *

Leo raced towards Donnie's makeshift lab with Raph and Mona keeping pace on one side and Karai on the other. Karai had just returned to their planning room when he'd gotten Donnie's summons. The machine was ready. Mikey was back. It was time to save their little brother.

He burst into the lab with the others close behind him, noting that they were the first to arrive, though everyone else would inevitably be along soon, for support if nothing else. Renet stood nervously to one side as she watched the three scientists hook his baby brother to a machine that could have easily featured in his childhood nightmares.

"Water Lily!" Mona called out as she ran to her distraught cousin, throwing her arms around her.

Renet returned the embrace. "Mona Lisa."

She couldn't say much else as a strangled sob erupted from her throat and she buried her face in Mona's shoulder. Her cousin gently patted her back as Renet fought to regain her composure.

Sniffling a bit, she looked up from Mona's shoulder and smiled at him. "Hey Ryan."

He groaned. "You are never going to let me live that down are you?"

She managed a weak smile. "Not ever."

He ruffled her shaggy blonde hair comfortingly, glad to see his dear friend again after such a long absence. Despite their diverging paths, they'd managed to remain close. He'd always cherished that.

Donnie took a deep breath and turned to his brothers as Dr. Rockwell finished hooking Mikey up. "The side tables are for mutagen donors."

Leo eyed the two tables, wondering if Donnie needed to be working the machine.

"Raph, choose which table you want, I'll take the other and Dr. Rockwell and Dr. Lillja will hook us up."

Wait? What did he say?

"I must voice my objections again. The risk of losing all three of you is…"

Donnie held up a hand against Dr. Rockwell's protest. "Worth it. There's no other way and you know it."

Rockwell scowled. "I still don't like it."

"You don't have to."

Leo stepped forward and Donnie put a hand on his chest to stop him. "If you think I'm sitting this out…"

Donnie's eyes softened at whatever he must have seen in Leo's face but his resolve didn't waver. "I'm sorry Leo. You can't."

"But…"

"You're not compatible anymore."

That was right. He'd undergone a secondary mutation to be with Karai. One of his own choosing. A decision he wouldn't want to take back. But he'd never imagined the cost would be so high.

"Will you and Raph be enough?"

Donnie placed a reassuring hand on his shoulder. "I believe so."

He knew how much accuracy mattered to his brilliant, younger brother, but for once he wished Donnie wouldn't hedge. A solid yes would have made him feel so much better.

Leo watched numbly as Raph and Donnie were hooked into the contraption. Behind him, he was vaguely aware of the rest of their friends and family filtering into the room. Rockwell floated over to the control panel and hesitated. Donnie gave him a determined nod and with a sigh of resignation, he activated the machine.

The tubes filled with glowing, blue-green fluid and Donnie and Raph's eyes fluttered closed as they slipped out of consciousness. Was that supposed to happen? He'd wished there'd been time for Donnie to explain the procedure. For once he would have been only too happy to hear one of his brother's long winded and overly detailed explanations.

Then the machines started beeping and blaring loudly and Leo's heart dropped into his stomach. What was happening?

"No!" Rockwell screamed and summoned a set of mechanical carts while Lillja and Fugitoid rushed in to help. He could only stand helpless as the three worked to bring his brother's back.

"Clear!" Donnie' body jolted under the burst of electricity from Rockwell's defibrillator while Lillja did the same to Raph seconds later and Fugitoid tried to save Mikey between them. Seconds stretched out into eternity as he watched attempt after attempt.

And then Donnie stabilized, his heart monitor falling back into a steady, familiar rhythm. An instant later Raph's did the same. But not Mikey's. His body started convulsing.

"The Adrenaline!" Rockwell called out to Fugitoid who drew a long, terrifying needle from the cart and rammed the point into Mikey's chest, depressing the plunger. He yanked the needle free as Rockwell levitated the paddles back to Mikey's chest.

"Clear!"

Mikey's heart monitor beeped once. Then again. Then fell into a somewhat steady rhythm.

Rockwell sighed in relief. "It's done. They'll be fine, given a little time."

Some part of his mind was aware of Mona, Venus and Renet rushing in and his father staggering forward. But he couldn't join them. The horror he'd stood on the precipice of was still too near.

He pushed his way out of the crowded room and into the hallway. Alone, his trembling body sagged against the wall and he sank to the ground, cradling his head in his hands. Close. That was too close.

All of a sudden he was enveloped in silken coils, Karai's comforting scent filling his nostrils. She didn't try to say anything as there no words that could ease his pain, but she was here. And that was what he needed more than anything else. In the relative privacy of the empty hallway, he wrapped his arms around her long, sinuous body and wept.

* * *

Mikey slowly returned to awareness. The first thing he noticed was lying on a cold metal table. He didn't want to acknowledge the memories that sensation stirred though his body recalled them, immediately tensing.

Then he became aware of a soft, warm presence curled against his side. Inhaling her scent, he knew it was Renet and snuggled deeper into her.

"Welcome back." Her voice was rough with emotion.

Finally feeling the courage to blink his eyes opened, he could see her plastered to his side on the metal table, face hidden in his plastron. She seemed upset. Not liking her being upset, he reached out the arm that she wasn't pinning to stroke her hair.

"Aww, don't be that way. I thought up a great new recipe that I wanna try. It's gonna be da bomb." After releasing a hiccupping laugh, she sighed and melted against him, relaxed this time.

"I can't wait." At the sound of Leo's voice, he turned his head to see his big brother standing beside his table. Did Leo's eyes look puffy? No way. Leo didn't cry. He was unbreakable. Maybe someone hit him with blinding powder again. Mikey felt like he could breathe freely again. Leo was here and nothing bad could happen with his big brother around.

"Tell me it's not actually going to be explosive?"

"Eh, I'd pay to see that."

Tilting his head back towards Renet at the sound of their voices, he realized that Donnie and Raph were standing on the other side of the table, both looking a little ragged.

"Trust me, you guys are gonna love it."

Raph scoffed. "Heard that before."

A strong hand rested on his unoccupied shoulder and he tilted his head back to see his father looking down at him affectionately.

"We are all looking forward to sampling your new dish my son."

Seeing beyond his immediate family, he realized that he didn't recognize anything.

"Where are we and when can we go home?"

Leo managed a strained smile. "The EDF and not for a while yet."

Mikey pouted. "Why not?"

"We have to save the Earth from alien invasion."

Mikey sighed dramatically. "Again? Fine. My new dish can be for the victory par-tay."

Raph rolled his eyes. "I'll let everyone know you're up for visitors."

Mikey frowned. Visitors? Why did anyone need to come visit him. He was fine. He could go visit them.

"Mikey wait!" Donnie didn't quite make it in time to stop his attempt at sitting up.

"Dude, why does it feel like Rocksteady head-butted my chest?"

Donnie shook his head and sighed. "You'll feel better in a day or two…just rest here for a bit."

Like that was gonna happen, but he'd humor his brother for now, mostly because his plastron ached like none other. But sooner or later stir crazy would win out over pain. Playing along, he gave Donnie an enthusiastic grin.

"Whatever you say bro. Send in the admirers."


	89. Chapter 88: Maturity VII

**Maturity VII:**

The small, quiet town lay in front of him, peaceful for the moment. He'd run and swam with inexplicable tirelessness. When he'd found occasional columns of stone and earth breaking the surface, he would leap off of them to cover the distance more quickly, each jump farther than the last, scattering the resting sea birds, not immediately obliterated in the wake of his arrival. By the last stone, what had been his longest leap yet became flight. And now he'd finally made landfall.

For a brief instant, seeing the sleepy town in the early morning light, Max, the man he'd been, surfaced and his heart ached for them. He struggled to turn away, but it was useless. The mindless rage swallowed him once more and the unfortunate town fell to carnage.

* * *

Raven sighed as she pretended to review the accumulating sets of potential plans that had been offered. In actuality, she was watching Leo going toe to toe with Director Bishop. Agent Oroku had already stormed off to his office in disgust after the first five minutes of the argument.

Her admiration for Leo's audacity was tempered by the knowledge that he wasn't for her. A fact she was reminded of as that shady snake-girl slipped into the room and drew Leo's attention away from Bishop like a magnet.

She had to strangle the spike of jealousy she felt as Leo immediately walked away from the futile and circular disagreement at Karai's request to speak with him. Although Director Bishop's expression of utter disbelief at being so dismissed was priceless.

Leo followed the snake-girl from the room like a love-struck puppy and her heart clenched. She wasn't accustomed to wanting something that she couldn't have. Had this been how Max had always felt with her? Another regret to add to the pile.

She hadn't seen or spoken to him since the divorce, but hoped that he was well. If the chance ever arose, she would apologize to him, though he would be well within his rights to throw it back in her face. She'd really screwed them up.

With a sigh, she tossed her tablet back onto the table and abandoned the room. Maybe moving about and clearing her head would help. Some training perhaps.

"Agent Shadowheart."

At the sound of her name, she turned to see a lower-level soldier running up to her.

"I realize that Director Bishop is busy preparing for the invasion right now, but there's a situation at the tip of South America."

She crossed her arms, casting him a stern look. "And you haven't brought this to your immediate superior because…?"

He frowned. "With the end of the world looming, he dismissed it as irrelevant, collateral damage. I thought maybe if you presented it to the director, someone could be spared to help."

Irritated by the cavalier attitude of the soldier's commander, she reached out to take the report from him. Scanning it quickly, she was even less pleased with whoever had chosen to disregard it.

Some kind of powerful weapon was cutting a swath of destruction through all civilization in the southern end of the continent, razing everything to the ground. The invasion was important, consumingly so, but incidents like this were a part of the reason the EDF existed in the first place. Well, at least she'd found the distraction she'd been looking for.

"Don't worry soldier. I'll see that this is handled."

He let out a breath of relief. "Thank you."

As he turned to leave, she pulled out her phone and connected with the transport division.

"This is Agent Shadowheart, call code 74308. Prep me a jet. I'm going to the tip of South America, ASAP."


	90. Chapter 89: Atonement IV

**Atonement IV:**

"Do you think I made a mistake?" Karai waited apprehensively, watching Leo's face closely after revealing her earlier encounter with her fath…the Shredd…Oroku Sa…oh what was she supposed to call him now. It made her head hurt.

An array of emotion flickered across Leo's features as he absorbed her words, before clearing as he set his own feelings regarding the matter aside. She loved that about it him. No matter how complicated his own reaction was, he could keep this about her.

If she'd gone to Raph, he would have probably blown up at her. Mikey would have gone on and on about how sweet she was, without really considering the matter. And Donnie would have probably attempted to analyze her actions using psychological research.

"How do you feel about it? Are you relieved or regretful?"

She closed her eyes and considered the question. It felt like a vise had unclenched from chest. One that she hadn't even realized was there until it released. She'd been holding onto the hurt, betrayal and guilt for so long that she hadn't been able to feel the chains they'd formed until now. Maybe by letting go of the past, she'd finally be free to live her future. No more ghosts haunting her at every turn. She could be at peace with her family for once.

"Relieved."

He smiled. "Then I don't think you made a mistake."

She looked down. There was something still gnawing at her. "What will father think?"

Cupping her cheek, he raised her eyes back to his. "Ask him."

* * *

With a deep breath, Splinter inhaled the aroma of the tea.

"It's going to get cold before you even start drinking it." There was mild amusement in Amaya's voice as she set her own empty cup aside.

"I am taking the time to appreciate it."

She lay her hand on his, sending a familiar tingle up his nerves that never failed to surprise him. "They're all back and safe now. It's ok."

He sighed. "But now an even greater danger looms ahead."

Her concern morphed into a cocky smile. "One we will all face together. Speaking of which, I still have some questions for the Fugitoid."

He nodded, regretting the loss of warmth as she slowly retracted her hand from his. To cover his inclination to stare as she left, he took his first sip of tea.

She hadn't been gone more than a few minutes when Miwa entered and a genuine smile came to his face, slipping only when he saw the agitation on hers.

"What troubles you my child?"

Sitting down next to him, she took a breath, composing herself before speaking. "I met Oroku Pimiko."

Splinter's jaw fell open. Of all things she could have said, he wasn't expecting that.

"Is she…"

"His daughter? Yes. And my sister…in a screwed up sort of way."

He was still reeling from her revelation, but actively pushed aside any thoughts and feelings not immediately relevant to Miwa's concerns.

"Does this upset you?"

Miwa managed a half-smile, so reminiscent of her mother it hurt. "No. I'm actually looking forward to getting to know her. Assuming we all survive the invasion."

He chuckled. "It wouldn't be the first set of impossible odds our family has overcome."

Miwa's smile fell and she evaded his gaze.

"I think they both just found out about each other. She didn't seem very certain. I told her to give him a chance. That he could be a good father."

She cringed, as though waiting for some kind of outburst. So that's what worried her. He wrapped an arm around her shoulders and leaned her in to his side.

"I'm so proud of you."

Her stunned eyes snapped to his face. "What? Shouldn't you be mad or hurt or betrayed? That I could just forgive him after everything he's done?"

Splinter considered his words carefully before answering. "Some of his choices are hard to accept. Others, like choosing to care for you as his own or risking everything to save you from the EDF are not."

Her brows knit together. "But mother…"

For a moment the pain of that one memory stole his breath and he was forced to clamp his eyes shut and take some time to let the intensity of the hurt subside.

"I'm sorry. I shouldn't have…"

"No. Never feel like you can't speak of your mother with me. To answer you, that…was not his intention." With great effort he steadied his voice, knowing that she needed and deserved to know what happened. "She was trying to stop the fight and put herself between us. But he was already committed to the strike. Her loss…losing her…it broke both of us."

Miwa's eyes widened as her entire perception of the past shifted. He probably should have spoken of this with her sooner, but it was a hard thing to relive. And the last time he'd attempted to answer her questions about that night, it had resulted in losing her. Again.

"I didn't know." Voice was almost a whisper, her eyes softened. "So it's not insane that I still love him, even after the mess he's made of my life?"

"He raised you from infancy. The love you feel is natural."

She scoffed. "So I don't get a choice in the matter?"

He patted her back gently. "Emotion is not rational. You feel what you feel and there is no shame in that. But you are the one who chooses what to do about those feelings. So love, be it familial, platonic or romantic, can be fostered or crushed depending on your own will. It is your choice. And as I said, I'm proud of the one you've made."

She still looked uncertain.

"But…" Her voice trailed off into silence.

"I wouldn't want you to hold a grudge my child. Forgiveness is a gift, both for you and him. Holding onto hatred will do nothing but slowly poison your soul. It is good to let it go."

She managed a frail smile with a spark of her familiar confidence and ferocity returning to her features. "Thank you, father."

As she rose to go, it occurred to him that it might be time to take his own advice.

* * *

Saki was revising his recommendations for the distribution of EDF resources in his report to Bishop, beyond annoyed that the turtle had made such good points but no longer too proud to make use of them, when he heard a knock on his office door.

He'd retreated here for time to think without interruption as well as finish up some of his work to prepare for the end of the world. But it might be Pimiko. Or Karai. Or Aditi. So he rose and answered it, rather than shout for whoever it was to leave if they knew what was good for them.

He froze at the sight of the giant rat on the other side. He'd known this confrontation was coming, there was too much history hanging between them to leave alone if they were stuck within relatively close quarters for the foreseeable future. But he'd assumed they'd both be putting it off for as long as possible.

Unsure of exactly how he intended to respond to the inevitable accusations, he stepped back to allow Yoshi to enter. Then he crossed his arms and waited, unwilling to flinch at whatever it was Yoshi had to say.

The rat eyed him thoughtfully. "I spoke with Miwa."

Karai. So that's what this was about. Well, whatever Yoshi thought he owed him, most of which was probably true, he wouldn't renounce his daughter. He had as much right to call her his as Yoshi did.

"I think it is good. For you and for her."

Saki started. He hadn't been expecting that. He would not have behaved such were their roles reversed. But that could be said of most of the events in their lives. Though it irked him that Yoshi appeared amused by his reaction. He covered it quickly enough.

"There is much we haven't spoken of."

Saki scowled. "What is there to say? It's done and cannot be undone. I can't change any of it."

Yoshi raised a brow. "If you could, would you."

The silence stretched out before them, until he finally decided to answer. "Yes. I would change everything. Is there a point to this speculation?"

Yoshi frowned. "I wished to know if you regret. Not Shen's death, I know you regret that, but everything else."

What was Yoshi getting at?

"Why?"

Yoshi sighed. "Laying the past to rest is the only way we can move forward."

He didn't want to talk about this. Not now. Or ever really. It was like picking at a thorn embedded in his flesh. But Yoshi was right, as usual, the smug fool. Uncomfortable or not, the thorn must be removed.

"I regret everything but Karai."

Yoshi's ears flattened. "No. I wouldn't expect you to. So you no longer seek vengeance against me?"

"No. What would be the point anymore?"

Yoshi's eyes softened and he detected a ghost of a smile, as though recognizing someone he hadn't seen in a long time.

"So, would you like to tell me about my niece?"

Saki almost laughed. He hadn't expected Yoshi to make it so easy. But maybe he was just as tired of the rift between them. Either way, it was good to have his brother back.

"Yes, I would."


	91. Chapter 90: Curiosity III

**Curiosity III:**

Karai felt lighter than she had in long time. The different pieces of her life were finally coming together, not completely undamaged, but at least fitting. For once, things were going right. Just in time for a massive, potentially world-ending, alien invasion. That was her luck. Or she could look at it another way. No matter how things went, she'd had a chance to straighten out all the snagged twists of her life and could now face the future without regrets.

Executing another flip, she drilled several kunai into the practice dummies on the far side of the training area. Maybe it was her imagination, but it felt like her serpentine reflexes flowed more naturally in her human form. Perhaps bridging the gap between her past and present had closed some of the rift between the two parts of herself. Or perhaps, she just wasn't fighting that part of who she was anymore. Somehow it seemed easier to accept now.

A door opened behind her and she flinched internally as Dr. Chaplin shuffled nervously into the room, throwing off her equilibrium. Well she made this mess. Now it was time to face the consequences. Straightening her shoulders, she met him head on, not one to shy away from an unpleasant task.

Seeming uncertain on where to start, he rubbed the back of his head sheepishly as his fair skin flushed pink. "So, it's great that we're, uh, allies now."

Wow, this was going to be more awkward than she'd anticipated. Best not to send mixed signals. She crossed her arms over her chest. "For the time being."

His brows knit together. "What?"

She maintained her rigid posture. "When this is over, assuming a best case scenario, my family and I will return home."

He frowned. "But I thought…"

She sighed. "Trust me, we operate better independently."

His eyes steeled with determination. "That doesn't mean that you and I…"

She held up a hand, forestalling the rest of what he was going to say. She'd hoped that he would take the hint sooner and it wouldn't come to this, but he was a stubborn one. "It does. Because I belong with Leo."

His eyes widened in shock and confusion and her stomach twisted. She'd done this. Now she would face it.

"In the lab…I thought…"

Refusing to turn away her gaze, she answered honestly. "I did what was necessary to keep us safe. I'm sorry that meant misleading you."

He swallowed hard and for an instant, she could see how crushed he was, twisting her innards even more. She'd blame all this empathy on Leo's influence. She'd never regretted using her powers of manipulation to deceive anyone before. Then again, she hadn't usually been around to witness the fallout of her actions either.

As quickly as the hurt appeared, it vanished into a forced smile, straining his features. "Oh. I see. Of course. My mistake then. I'll just…" He sought words to finish the thought before giving up completely. "I guess I'll see you around then." His voice was full of fake nonchalance as he turned and exited the room, his motions stiff and jerky.

Despite the guilt and pity that now assaulted her, she wouldn't take back what she'd done because no matter what, protecting Leo would always be more important.

* * *

Miserable, Oscar staggered into his office and slammed the door shut behind him. What a complete miscalculation. He'd assumed the blue turtle was a friend or, at most, a sibling. That she and he were…his stomach turned at the thought of his angel together with that abomination. But it was the current state of things.

Unless he could change it. Save her.

In his mind her golden, human eyes overlaid with her green, serpentine ones, both looking longingly back at him. No, he would not give her up. He couldn't. She might not see it yet, but whether she was coerced or confused he would set her free and bring her home to him. Somehow. One way or another, she would be his.

He paced the room, generating and discarding possible ideas for reaching his new goal, when something on his desk, caught his eye. It was a small package from an Eric Sacks.

Curious, he recklessly tore it open and dumped its contents on his desk, only belatedly wondering if he should have run some safety scans on it to ensure that it wasn't a bomb or biological agent. The EDF had mail procedures, but he didn't generally trust anything he hadn't personally verified.

Luck was with him today. The package had only contained an old, square, stone pendant with a strange pattern, hand-chiseled onto it. Why would someone he didn't know send him this piece of junk? He had no interest in antiquities.

And yet, he couldn't quite bring himself to sweep it into the waste basket beside his desk. Instead, he picked it up and slipped it into his pocket.


	92. Chapter 91: Teamwork VII

**Teamwork VII:**

Leo made his way to the conference room where he'd asked his family to gather. His strategy was as set as it could be. Now for the waiting. Until the confrontation with the invaders when all carefully laid plans would go off the rails and he'd find himself making it up as he went. As usual. That never made the planning any less essential.

There was one variable, as Donnie would call it, that could change things and he'd been procrastinating enough about it as it was. Usually the way was more clear. Strictly speaking, they could use every advantage they could get in this fight, but Karai didn't trust it. She admitted that Faraji himself was sincere, but resisted risking the unforeseen consequences of such a commitment. The only conclusion was that everyone would need to hear about the guardians and make the choice for themselves. Hence the family meeting.

He was almost there, but before he could reach the door, a young human woman with short blonde hair, wearing an EDF uniform rushed up and waylaid him.

"Leonardo Hamato, right?" She eagerly thrust a clipboard and pen towards him, not waiting for a response, as though the question were a mere formality. "I just need you to sign off on the soundtrack installation on the vehicles that your and the Mutanimal's teams requisitioned for modification by the Fugitoid."

He blinked. "Sign off on the what?"

Her grin widened. "My intuition tells me that pirate metal will be just what you guys need. I'm thinking Alestorm."

For a moment he was speechless, struggling to process her request, let alone respond. She didn't miss a beat, shoving the clipboard and pen in his hands to free up hers to pull printouts from her messenger bag. "I've done some research on how sound impacts attitude, brain activity and the endocrine system to demonstrate that…"

He raised his pen wielding hand to stop her. "Who are you?"

She flushed and shoved the papers back into the bag, knocking the heel of her left hand against her forehead while reaching her right out towards him. "Of course. Sorry. I'm Agent Fine with the EDF, liaison to the Mutanimals."

He looked at her hand for a moment before shifting the pen to his clipboard holding hand, and meeting her handshake. "I don't mean any offense, but why the concern for such a minor detail?"

She drew back her shoulders, pulling herself up to her full, still-diminutive height. "It's not a minor detail. It could mean the difference between victory and defeat. Besides I finished all my other work and I'm running out of things to do."

"Your other work?" He couldn't help his curiosity.

She chuckled. "Oh that? The Director was having me conference with some world leaders who were being uncooperative about putting their resources where we wanted them. I got the approval I needed to intervene at lower levels. By the time they realize what's happened the Earth will already be saved."

His eyes widened upon hearing the importance of her task. She seemed so young and…kind of silly. In an endearing way, like Mikey, but still. "You what? How?"

She shrugged, repositioning the clipboard and pen in his hands. "It's what I do."

"I'm surprised that such an essential person is just a liaison to one of the EDF's teams."

She tapped on the clipboard prompting him into unthinking motion as she answered. "Oh not really. I was recently recruited and just finished up my training period."

His jaw fell open. "A new hire is handling world leaders."

She flashed him another grin as she plucked the clipboard and pen out of his hands. "What can I say? I'm good at what I do." Then she started to turn away, talking to him over her shoulder. "I'll get on this right away."

His eyes darted to the clipboard, catching a brief, surprising flash of his signature on it, just before she trotted off. What had just happened?

* * *

Mondo skated through the hanger bay, making use of the large cluttered space as an obstacle course. The actual training area wasn't really his style.

Sure the end of the world was on its way, but he was kind of bored. Slash was busy meeting with EDF people. Umeko spent a lot of time on her own, doing what appeared to be nothing as far as he could tell. When he'd asked, she said that she was mentally preparing for the battle ahead, whatever that meant. How she could stay still for so long without even headphones and some jams was beyond him.

Without a specific task, all Pete wanted to do was eat. Leatherhead was actually making use of the uninteresting training facility. There was only so much of that he could jump in on before it started getting old. And of course Rockwell was off doing science stuff. He hadn't really seen the newbies, Pimiko and Carter, since arriving and Bishop had sent Candy off to do something or other on her own to his immense disappointment.

So he'd essentially been left to his own devices. No fun. He'd gotten used to having friends to hang with over the last few years and being stuck by himself sucked hard.

Cruising around the hangar, he could see Rockwell, hippie scientist and robo-scientist doing something technical to one of the ships. That did not look fun. Although maybe banking off the tank-looking thing behind them to flip overtop and freak them out would be. Until Rockwell caught him telepathically and shook him till his brains rattled. Eh, worth it.

He changed course to double back and build up some speed, when he caught sight of something that almost made him wipe out. Prank forgotten, he redirected to the ship that caught his eye.

Candy saw him coming as she exited the vehicle and smiled at him. "Hey you."

He could feel an answering grin spread unbidden across his face. "Hey, where've you been?"

She shrugged and plopped down on the steps down from the ship. "Director Bishop had a bunch of lame stuff he wanted me to take care of."

He kicked his board up into his hand and dropped down beside her. "Done then? Or still working on it?"

"The boring stuff is done. Now, I'm just finishing up a side project." Her eyes twinkled mischievously as she spoke and he took the bait.

"Loop me in."

"Just making sure you guys have the most awesome pre-battle soundtrack ever." She grinned proudly and he laughed, responding with absolute sincerity.

"Well at least someone around here knows what's important. I can't wait."

Her smile slipped and she looked away.

"Candy?" They were having fun. What was wrong?

"It's going to be soon isn't it?"

Oh. He looked down at his lap. "Yeah, probably."

Her shoulders slumped. "I wish I could do more."

He cast his eyes in her direction, never having seen her so subdued before. He didn't like it. "You do all kinds of crazy-awesome stuff with your superpowers."

That pulled a laugh out her to his relief. "I don't have any superpowers."

He gave her a toothy grin. "Trust me, you totally do."

She sighed. "Not the ones I wish I had."

He tentatively placed an encouraging hand on her shoulder. "I don't know. If I could convince anyone to do what I wanted the way you can, it would be awesome, although I'd probably waste it on jokes and games."

She looked startled for a moment before her expression hardened in determination. "If that's true, then I'm making you come back from this. You have to. The band is coming along and its gonna be amazing and I…I…" Her eyes welled with tears as she spoke, voicing trailing off as she struggled to get the words out.

He leaned in, resting his forehead against hers. "That's all you needed to say. I promise that, no matter what, I'm coming back to you."

She smiled through her unshed tears. "Good, because I'm gonna hold you to it."

Reaching around the back of his neck, she tilted his chin forward, pressing her delicate lips to the center of his wide mouth and illuminating his world in ways he hadn't thought possible. Superpower indeed. There was nothing in the invaders' arsenal that could keep him away from this.


	93. Chapter 92: Guardians VI

**Guardians VI:**

Leo led the others to the training center where he'd arranged to meet Faraji, waffling between worry that he was making a huge mistake and concern that it still wouldn't be enough. But, with the decision now made, he refused to let his doubts control him without compelling reason to question his and his family's judgment. The balance of leadership, while familiar, never did become any easier. His mind drifted back to the family meeting.

 _Leo's gaze flicked over to Karai beside him, waiting to see if she had any closing comments after annotating his explanation of Faraji's offer._

 _She just smirked. "I think you about covered it."_

 _He turned back to everyone else. "Thoughts?"_

 _Donnie, inquisitive as ever, was the first to react. "Exactly how much control would this Tribunal have over our actions and how much would this process change us?"_

 _He took a deep breath before answering. "Based on what I've gathered from Venus, Raph and Angel's encounters and what Faraji told me, I assume that it's more of an obligation than control. As far as I know, there hasn't been enough internal conflict to find out what consequences defiance would carry."_

 _Raph crossed his arms. "Obligation? Like what we do anyway?"_

 _Leo smiled. Raph could sound ornery, even in agreement. "With a wider scope. It will be more than just New York."_

 _Raph snorted. "Because we are only worried about New York now or back during the Invasion or when the Dragonlord…"_

 _He held up a hand to forestall any further examples. "Yes. I think the major difference will be that we will have to travel more."_

 _The corner of Raph's mouth quirked up into a smile. "You mean that you'll have to take the rest of us with you."_

 _Leo released a noise that sounded like it couldn't decide whether it wanted to be a sigh of exasperation or a laugh. "I guess so."_

 _"_ _But what is this going to do to us?" Donnie wrung his hands, clearly uncomfortable with not having detailed specs on all the changes agreeing to this would entail._

 _Leo shifted focus, knowing that his answer would be insufficient for his brilliant younger brother. "As I understand it, it will be less of a change and more of an enhancement of traits and abilities that are already a part of us. The biggest difference will probably be the spirit avatars."_

 _"_ _Aww yeah! Mystics pets. What do you think I'll get? Do you think it will be a puppy, ooh, or kitten?" Mikey was practically jumping on the balls of his feet with excitement._

 _Leo rubbed his temples. "They won't be pets Mikey."_

 _"_ _But…"_

 _"_ _Not. Pets. Does anyone else have any input?"_

 _The rest of the family had remained pensive as his brothers expressed their concerns._

 _Renet was the first to speak. "I'm pretty sure that I have a conflicting obligation with the whole apprentice Timestress thing, so I don't think I could even if I wanted to."_

 _April spoke next. "I'm concerned about how being part Kraang would interact with their power, given their history with the Kraang. I think it's safer for everyone if I don't."_

 _Alopex growled out her response. "I'm done serving masters. Count me out."_

 _Angel shrugged. "You all know that I'm not a team player. I'm staying independent. Besides, someone has to look after New York."_

 _Casey offered a gap toothed grin as he answered. "Casey Jones ain't beholden to no one and doesn't need magic to save the world. This superhero runs freelance."_

 _Raph rolled his eyes. "Are you ever going to grow out of referring to yourself in the third person?"_

 _Casey's grin widened. "It's just one of the many ways that Casey Jones is awesome."_

 _Raph sighed. "I'll take that as 'no' then."_

 _Master Splinter interrupted before their exchange could derail the discussion. "While I am always here if you need me, my days of seeking out fights are long past."_

 _"_ _I feel the same way." Aunt Amaya stepped up beside him as she chimed in._

 _Venus slowly met all their eyes, sad but determined. "I'm going to accept."_

 _Leo couldn't say that he was entirely surprised, but this was no small decision. "Are you sure?"_

 _She managed a strained smile. "They can teach me to master the abilities I was born with, an opportunity I have been lacking since my father's murder. And protecting the world from supernatural danger is kind of a family tradition for me. Besides, it might make a difference in the battle."_

 _He nodded, accepting her reasoning._

 _Donnie reached out and took her hand, clearly nervous. "Then we'll do it together."_

 _Her eyes softened with concern and affection as she looked up at him. "Donatello…but you can't stand magic and mysticism."_

 _He smiled, showing the gap in his teeth. "I can for you. It might be a little outside my comfort zone, but I'll adjust. Besides, I'll never understand it if I keep avoiding it and it's not in my nature not to investigate."_

 _She let out a relieved breath that Leo hadn't realized she'd been holding as she leaned into Donnie and he wrapped his arms around her shell._

 _Raph clapped a hand on Donnie's shoulder. "Don't think you're doing this without me."_

 _"_ _Or me." Mikey ran forward and caught the three of them in an awkward group hug. Leo chuckled lightly at the sight of Raph prying himself free as Donnie and Venus squirmed in Mikey's exuberant embrace._

 _"_ _Or me. We do this together." His brother's eyes turned to him and he felt the bond between them stronger than ever._

 _"_ _Leo…I'm sorry. I can't." Karai's voice cut through the moment and he shifted focus as she forced her explanation out. "I just can't risk serving another master. I need to make and be responsible for all my own decisions. I…"_

 _He pulled her into an embrace. "It's ok. I prefer it this way."_

 _She stiffened and looked up at him with those piercing, golden eyes, trying to ascertain whether or not he was being patronizing._

 _"_ _I need you to watch us, in case something goes wrong. In case this is a mistake. If things go bad…"_

 _"_ _I'll find a way to bring you back. All of you."_

 _"_ _Thank you."_

 _His arms tightened around her as she relaxed and rested her head on his chest. Beyond her, he could see Mona rubbing her arms self-consciously, stopping only when Raph draped an arm across her shoulders._

 _"_ _Raph?"_

 _"_ _It's ok. You're meant to be free. This choice doesn't change us, so don't chain yourself for my sake. Besides, Miwa might need some help if we all go nuts." His words were light, but his expression was serious._

 _Mona's eyes shined with unshed tears as she threw her arms around him. "If you asked me to…"_

 _Raph smiled. "I know. But I'm not. I like you the way you are."_

 _She looked up at him. "You're not mad at me for declining?"_

 _His smile widened. "As long as you're not mad at me for accepting."_

 _She shook her head and snuggled into him. "No. You have to be who you are too."_

The closer Leo got to the meeting location, the happier he was that Karai had chosen to remain apart. He could take this risk for the sake of the world with a lighter heart because he trusted her to make things right if it turned out to be a mistake. She wouldn't let them down. Everything would be ok.

Pushing open the doors, his brothers and Venus fanned out around him. Faraji, with Joi, Adam and Tora, stood in the center of the room, waiting for them. Faraji stepped out from the group and Leo approached to meet him.

Faraji's eyes scanned Leo's siblings. "So you have come to join?" If he was disappointed that there weren't more, he didn't let on.

Leo looked around, finding the rest of the room empty. "Are we it?"

Faraji's smile didn't reach his eyes. "We don't entirely trust Director Bishop, so we chose not to poach from the EDF in case a conflict of interest should arise."

Leo nodded, realizing that ruled out the Mutanimals. So it really would be just them.

"So how do we do this?" Raph's impatience was evident in his tone.

"Eager are we?" Joi leered at his brother who scowled back at her.

"Joi." She rolled her eyes as Faraji snapped at her, before retaking control of the situation. "The power is within in us. We need only share it with those with potential, who are open to it."

Tora approached Donnie and Venus holding his hands out towards them. They tentatively reached out and accepted, placing one of each of their hands in his. Adam offered a hand to Mikey, who, after looking at it for a moment, smiled wide and shook it enthusiastically. Joi sauntered up to Raph who eyed her warily. She smugly stuck her hand out toward him. Jaw clenched, he reached out to take it, never one to back down from a challenge. Taking a deep breath, Leo accepted Faraji's proffered hand.

At first nothing happened and the situation started to get awkward. Then Faraji closed his eyes and Leo could feel his aura expanding, seeing it as a visible blue light, glowing around his body. Faraji's aura extended, spreading across their interlocked hands, to encompass Leo.

He could feel the energy pouring into him, filling him up like a thunderstorm into a well. For a moment he seemed to burn brighter than a star before the blinding light faded and he found himself in the training room once more, the same but not. His body still buzzed with unfamiliar energy. He felt like himself, but more.

Faraji retracted his hand, eyeing Leo curiously. "Hmm, interesting."

Leo raised an eye ridge. "What?"

"The traits within you that the power recognized. Mine are stealth and leadership. Tora's are teamwork and loyalty. Joi's are speed and fearlessness. And Adam's are strength and determination."

"So what are mine then?" Leo tried not to sound as skeptical as he felt.

"Agility and ingenuity."

He frowned, trying to hide his disappointment. Agility was kind of mundane against advanced technology and ingenuity seemed more like a Donnie trait that he wasn't sure how to apply. He'd been hoping for something a bit more superheroey, like in comic books, as corny as that sounded.

"Really? I don't see how that's going to be useful against invading aliens."

Faraji smiled. "Nothing happens without purpose. Those qualities were chosen because they are important to who you are. The use of them may surprise you when put to the test."

Leo sighed, still not convinced. Hopefully the others had fared better. He looked over to Raph, who had just tugged his hand free of Joi's.

At the sound of Faraji clearing his throat, she glanced over at him in annoyance. "Power and independence. Try developing some patience will you."

Raph appeared smug at the pronouncement and Leo had to admit it suited him. He turned his attention to Mikey and Adam.

Mikey was hopping up and down excitedly. "Ooh, ooh, my turn now. What'd I get? What'd I get?"

Adam chuckled in a deep, rumbling voice. "You are constitution and charisma."

Mikey looked puzzled. "Say what?"

Donnie sighed. "It means your healthy, not surprising since you can eat absolutely anything without a problem, and that people like you."

Mikey jumped up and down. "Woohoo. I have super powers!"

Donnie sighed again and Leo couldn't help laughing a little. It was true, though. Mikey did have a special talent for winning people over and it was near impossible to tell him no, when he was determined.

Tora was focused on Don first. "Donatello, you are accuracy and intelligence."

Raph scoffed and Leo had to agree there was no surprise there.

Then Tora turned to Venus. "You are endurance and patience."

Although he didn't know his sister as completely as his brothers, that seemed to suit as well.

"So, no surprises then?"

Leo's head snapped in Raph's direction. Really? His traits were a surprise. Or so he thought. Was that how the others saw him? No one was voicing disagreement, so it had to be.

Faraji interrupted his thoughts. "You now each have a spirit avatar. Clear your mind and focus. It will come to you."

A spectral lion appeared at Faraji's side. Then a bear manifested next to Adam. A hawk landed on Joi's shoulder and a wolf accompanied Tora.

Taking a breath, Leo tried to mimic Faraji and was startled to discover a ghostly eagle, perched on his forearm. He could feel its intelligence, sensing that it was both a part of him and separate unto itself. The sensation was completely foreign to him, but the bird's presence was oddly comforting.

To one side, Raph was eyeing a spectral Tiger appraisingly. On his other side, Mikey was playing with a raccoon.

"Aww, lookit him. He's so cute."

Leo could see Mikey, look over towards Venus and Donnie, smothering a laugh as his eyes danced with amusement. He turned and had a fight back a snort of laughter.

Venus was staring skeptically at a ghostly turtle, resting peacefully in her hands. She glared at Tora. "Is this some kind of joke?"

He shook his head. "It chooses you."

She sighed, looking down at the creature, clearly wondering what help it would be.

Meanwhile, Don was still struggling to bring his into being.

"Donnie, focusing on your breathing. Like meditation."

Don eyed him for a moment, before taking Leo's advice. Slowly a raven formed into being in the air in front of him. He stared at it curiously for a moment before a reluctant smile spread across his face.

"Excellent. Now it is time to learn how to use your new abilities. Normally, your training would be longer and more comprehensive, but…there are extenuating circumstances."

Leo smiled. "You'd be surprised how often that happens to us." Then he nodded to his family. "We are ready to begin."


	94. Chapter 93: Identity V

**Identity V:**

Woozy from what he assumed was a debilitating pizza deficiency, Mikey had ducked out of their intensive, Guardian-powers crash course. Once fortified with the sweet taste of gooey, hot cheese and tomato sauce, maybe he'd be able to figure out how anyone could practice using constimution and cheesma. No one had been able to properly explain it to him, probably because they were a little fuzzy on it themselves.

At least he had summoning his awesome new spirit pet down pat. No matter what Leo and everyone else said about spiritual resources and mystic guidance, he knew that Bandit was his new little buddy. Ice Cream Kitty would understand and they would totally all be the best of friends when he got home.

Strolling cheerfully into the military food court, he made his way to the buffet line, piling up his plate with pizza and other items which he suspected would make for excellent supplementary toppings.

He couldn't get over the mix of nerve-racking terror and euphoric high he got from buying food in such a public and ordinary way. The temptation to try ducking stealthily around the brightly lit and crowded room warred with the impulse to strut about, reveling in all the humans not screaming at the sight of him. He got a few curious glances, but it was all so normal it was weird.

By the time he made it up to the register with a heaping tray, he realized that he didn't actually have his ID badge on him. Leo had given him his shortly after he'd woken up from his nightmare trip to Japan, saying that Bishop had provided them as some kind of access pass.

He didn't know what everyone else used them for, but he'd discovered that they'd unlocked the secret of unlimited food in the cafeteria. Except now his was nowhere to be found. He must have dropped it somewhere. There would probably be several people waiting to chew his shell out for that, ranging from Leo to Director Bishop.

More importantly, what if they wouldn't let him have the pizza now? He'd waste away to nothing.

The tired-looking young man at the register stared at him expectantly.

"Uh…I seem to have forgotten my card thing. Think you can give me as pass this time."

"For record keeping purposes, use of badges are required. I'm sorry."

No. He must eat. Now.

Calling upon his best adorable pout, he looked pleadingly at the register dude. "Come on. You must know who I am. How many mutant turtles could their possibly be here?"

"You'd be surprised."

The guy's voice was still tired and monotonous, but Mikey could see a slight wavering in his expression. He couldn't leave all this lovely food here uneaten. He just couldn't. Cranking it up to max, he tried again.

"Come on, I'm totes memorable. And my name is too. Michelangelo Hamato. You can just remember me and what I ordered and put it in your system later."

The cashier blinked, slightly dazed. "That would be a lot of work…"

Mikey pushed harder. "But you'll do it. For me. Right?"

Tired or not, the guy at the register smiled and laughed lightly, rubbing the back of his head. "Well I guess I could. Sure."

Mikey winked conspiratorially. "Thanks dude. You're the best."

He bounded to the nearest table with his prize, feeling abruptly more drained and light-headed than before. Odd. But he didn't pay it any mind as he dug enthusiastically into his meal.

About three quarters of the way through, his stomach started to gurgle menacingly. The food tasted amazing but supplementing his diet with human leftovers over the years had taught him the signs when a meal would end badly for him, though he never regretted it.

He doubted that he'd toss his cookies. It was beyond rare that something he ate couldn't be kept down. Having to spend the rest of the day or following days near a restroom, however, was a more common consequence. He didn't have time for that. The invasion was coming.

"Oh man, the shrimp has turned. Get this tray out of here before it starts making people sick."

Hearing the call emanating from the buffet line, Mikey looked down at his platter to see the pile of seafood he'd garnished his pizza with. Uh oh.

 _Not gonna be sick. Not gonna be sick._

He closed his eyes, chanting the mantra in his head, willing his guts to settle. To his shock they did. The gurgles faded and the tightness in his bowels relaxed. Weird.

At least Leo wouldn't be having fits about him missing more training than he already was. Although how he was supposed master his using his special new traits, he had no clue. With a shrug, he lifted the pizza to his mouth, once more. Waste not, want not.

A shadow fell over his table as he was about to take a bite. Looking up to find its source, he froze, experiencing an involuntary bout of panic at the sight. She looked younger than she'd had when he'd met her at the party, but that could be attributed to the maternal disguise she'd been sporting at the time. Pimiko. That's what they'd said her name was. She pulled out the chair next to him and sat down without invitation.

He couldn't help scanning the room for allies, or maybe an escape route, but stopped when he saw her notice and flinch out of the corner of his eye. Still nervous, but now curious, he turned his full attention to her. "Uh…hi?"

She blinked. Clearly not expecting that. "How are you not angry? Shouldn't you be yelling or cursing at me?"

He cocked his head thoughtfully, trying to puzzle out what she was getting at. "Not really my style. Umm, not that it isn't great to see you again, but…"

"I'm sorry." Her apology cut him off and for a moment he was speechless, affording her an opportunity to rush the rest out. "I was wrong. Kidnapping you was dishonorable and evil and done for the sake of my own pride and arrogance. I…regret it. Ask whatever retribution you wish."

Understanding now, he smiled broadly. She wasn't a bad sort. Not really. "It's ok. We're cool."

Her eyes unglued from the table to snap up towards him. She'd been braced for an unpleasant response and was now totally off balance. He couldn't help but be a little amused.

"I don't understand. How?"

He shrugged. "Everyone makes mistakes."

Her mouth worked as she almost started to say several things, abandoning each, until she finally settled on a response. "Mine almost cost you your life."

"But it didn't. I'm all good."

Her brows furrowed in frustration. She probably did want to be yelled at, but he was having a little too much fun to be accommodating.

"How can you not hate me?"

"Eh, I'm not much of a hater. For explosive rage and grudges, I'll need to direct you to my brother, Raph."

"But…"

"You're really sorry. I forgive you. Do better next time."

She slumped back in her chair, bewildered. After several moments of awkward silence, which Mikey filled with finishing his pizza, she pushed herself to her feet. "I…thank you."

He winked. "No prob."

* * *

"You ok?"

Pimiko jumped, annoyed with herself for failing to notice Carter slip into the small, spartan quarters that had been assigned to her, even as her pulse quickened and face flushed at the sight of him.

"Yes…no…maybe. I went to take care of something and it didn't go the way I expected."

He raised an eyebrow. "It went badly."

A bitter laugh escaped her. "No. It went too well."

"I can see how that would be a problem."

His easy smile was warming her insides. The sensation mixed strangely with her guilt. Carter was giving her an opportunity to get it off her chest. Maybe she should take it.

"It shouldn't have been that easy."

"What?"

"Mikey's forgiveness."

His brown eyes softened as she mentioned the core of the matter and for a moment she basked in his compassionate gaze. "Yeah, that seems like him."

She frowned up at him, leaning back in her desk chair. "What?"

Resting his hip against her desk, not quite sitting on it, he answered, thoughtfully lost in memory. "I wasn't with them too long after…life got weird. I was not adjusting well and I can't say that I'm completely ok with it, but it's easier now. Everyone but him was understandably a bit wary and hostile of having a stranger in their home and my edginess wasn't helping. But he was friendly, welcoming. Gave me a silly nickname. Despite everything going wrong, it actually made me feel better. It's just a part of who he is, I guess."

She shook her head. "That makes my abduction of him even worse. There should be some kind of retribution for it."

He placed a hand on her shoulder. "That's not for you to decide."

Frustrated, she jumped to her feet. "But I can't just forget it…there must be something…"

Carter tilted his head to one side. "Did he say anything?"

She paused and turned away from him. "Do better next time."

From behind her, she could feel his arms wrap around her, the faint scent of cocoa butter mixed with reptile enveloping her. "Then that's what you have to do."

Yes. That was exactly what she needed to do. She'd make it right in her promise to Mikey. From now on, she would do better. Much better.


	95. Chapter 94: Players and Pawns V

**Players and Pawns V:**

A tear in the fabric of reality opened into Null Time and Null stepped through, his business suit looking quite dapper on his subtly-demonic, humanoid frame. He really did enjoy Sack's visualization of him.

Dropping the oozing, gutted timeling on the ground as he stepped into the fortress, he surveyed the space before him. Long had he waited to come here, but he'd lost his only other chance millennia ago when that insignificant Roman soldier had come and taken his place. Ever since, they'd kept the timelings on a short leash. Until now.

Not that it would have mattered. This place wasn't compatible with him. It twisted and distorted his energy, bending it against his will. No. He could not make use of Null Time dimension. Ironic. But he wouldn't go without a souvenir.

A faint flicker of existence called to him here, despite the distortion. He followed the summons to its source, a husk of a man in a crystal coffin. Too easy. There was so little of this being left, he wouldn't even need consent to claim him.

Intending to shatter the glass, his touch melted it into a puddle. This wretched place twisted everything. Still, the end result was the same.

Reaching out, he placed his palm on the mummified chest before him, allowing his energy to flow into the waiting vessel. But as with all other attempts, his efforts bent awry.

Instead of being restored, the prisoner metamorphosed and grew, sprouting fur, horns and hooves, reminding him of the Minotaur from human mythology. Not an exact match but close enough. The tail was an interesting addition. It might not have been his intention, but perhaps this was better.

The creature, once Savanti Romero, fell to its knees. "Master."

"Arise and follow. I have plans for you and there is nothing for us here."


	96. Chapter 95: Hero Worship VII

**Hero Worship VII:**

Shadow crept up to the wall of the warehouse, her heart pounding in her chest. She'd wanted to return the same day she and Keno had first been attacked, but the others had convinced her to wait until they were prepared to strike. Only her desire not to end the second battle the same as the first kept her from ignoring that wisdom. Master Splinter would have been disappointed in her near-disastrous impatience.

At least she'd gotten the word out to the community and was pleased to learn that, despite the violent change in leadership, the Dragons were mitigating as much of the damage they were required to do as they possibly could without brining Hun down on them. That told her where they're loyalties lay and she'd have them back before long. With a little help from their absent friends. Oh Donnie was so gonna wig out when he got back.

 _"So, why exactly do your mystery friends have a secret hideout in the sewers?" Irma looked around in distaste, rubbing her arms as Keno avoided breathing through his nose while watching carefully where he stepped._

 _Geez. They were already in the abandoned subway tunnel. The smell and filth weren't nearly so bad here. Besides, cleaning up too much in the area outside the lair might raise suspicion, a risk that could not afford to be taken._

 _Cait, Walt, Zach and her dad looked away, avoiding Irma's question. Well, this was her little expedition, so it was her responsibility. "It's a vigilante crime fighter thing. Who's gonna find a secret base of operations down here?"_

 _Irma's lips pursed. She hardly looked convinced but, to Shadow's relief, didn't press the issue._

 _Leading the group through the turnstiles, she heard Irma and Keno gasp. Leo and Raph were going to go ballistic when they found out. But this was an emergency. And Keno and Irma didn't know everything. Or at least not the one thing that really mattered._

 _"This is some base of operations." Keno's voice held a hint of awe. He was probably expecting some kind of bolt hole. Although worn, mismatched and often cobbled together. The turtles' home was an extraordinary place._

 _"Yeah. There's a security system, so don't try coming here without an escort." Keno raised an eyebrow at her words, but didn't comment._

 _She made a beeline for the dojo, heading to the box in the corner to replenish her supply of shruiken and kunai. Don always made sure there were enough._

 _Several sharp intakes of breath, drew her attention back to the doors. Right. Cait, Walt and Zach hadn't gotten to see the dojo before. Tucking her weapons away, she hurried back and batted Keno's hand away as he was reaching out to examine some of the weapons lining the wall, while everyone else's eyes were locked on the great tree in the center of the room._

 _"Nope." She wasn't about to risk Sensei's wrath._

 _Keno frowned and crossed his arms over his chest. "I thought you said we were coming here to arm ourselves?"_

 _The corner of her mouth quirked up. "Have you ever trained with any of these?"_

 _He flushed. "Well…no."_

 _She grinned smugly. "Then don't touch."_

 _She headed back towards the stairs. "Come on. I'll show you what we really came for."_

 _The group followed, most reluctant to leave the dojo. Until she opened the weighty metal door to the lab. Irma nearly squealed as she rushed over to Don's table of chemistry equipment and Shad's stomach fluttered. D didn't anger easily, but he was not going to be pleased with this, no matter how justified._

 _Irma ran her hands reverently over the elaborate glass set up before her eyes alighted on the chemical cabinet. Shad slid out her lock picks, grateful that Mikey had once shown her his secret workaround to get past Don's defenses. With a click the cabinet opened and Irma started to root around inside, mumbling to herself as she did so._

 _Shad pulled a stack of ratty, old notebooks from the drawer beside the cabinet and placed them in Irma's hands, stealing her focus from Don's stock. "This should be the inventory and his notes."_

 _Irma flipped through the pages, eyes wide with disbelief. "Who is this guy?"_

 _Shad smiled softly. "The smartest person, I've ever known."_

 _Irma shook her head. "This guy should be an academic rock star. What's he doing hiding down here?"_

 _Shad's smile dropped. "Life isn't always so simple. Do you have what you need?"_

 _That hungry look was back on Irma's face. "Oh yeah."_

 _"Good."_

 _Shad turned away and noticed Cait practically drooling over the desk covered in Don's in-progress engineering projects while Zach watched with narrowed eyes. If she didn't know any better, she'd say he was jealous of the attention D's creations were getting._

 _Smile returning, she approached. "Any idea what this stuff is?"_

 _Cait's eyes were shining. "Some. Maybe. Now this is recycling. How could anyone build all this out of…nothing."_

 _Shad shrugged. "I guess what people throw away is only nothing to those who see it as such. You didn't get a good look at Don's lab before?"_

 _Cait blushed. "Sorry. At that time, the people here were…distracting."_

 _"Hard as it is to believe, you get used to it and soon all you'll see is the person."_

 _As she spoke, Shad flipped open the laptop and logged into the guest account that Donnie set up so that his brothers could help him clean up whenever they messed up his workspace, an inevitable event despite the family rules, especially with Mikey._

 _A specific place for everything, described in meticulous detail. Don's compulsive need for organization was sure coming in handy now. Pulling up the file that listed where everything was supposed to go, she gave Cait a sidelong glance. "Ready for a scavenger hunt?"_

A bead of sweat rolled down her cheek as she edged her way under the window, body pressed tight against the wall. Stealth was her specialty, always had been, but the level of danger here couldn't help but make her nervous.

Sliding on her shuko spikes, she carefully started to climb, grateful that they'd long ago peeled away the corrugated metal from the walls to give to Don. The cinderblock underneath made for a much quieter ascent and she didn't dare make sound now.

Bracing herself in place, she released one hand to slip a small device from a pouch on her belt. It looked like a flattened, metal silly putty container and suctioned soundlessly to the bottom of the broken window.

She waited for a tense moment, anticipating discovery. The armed guard mere inches above her, hadn't noticed. Letting out a quiet sigh of relief, she looked along the rest of the wall. Only twenty more windows to go. Yay.

* * *

Trembling, exhausted and still churning with adrenaline, Shad slipped from the building to a storm grate not far away. Quietly lifting the heavy lid, and dropping inside, she made her way quickly to the secret entrance, grateful that Hun wasn't familiar with the layout of the base Angel had eventually settled on for her new Dragons. Cait, Zach, Keno and her dad awaited her at the ladder leading up to the trap door in the floor.

"Did Tim get it unlocked?"

Her dad nodded. "I tested it when we first got here. We can get in. And they can get out."

Taking a breath, she turned to Cait. "Give him the signal."

Cait sent the message waiting on her phone. She didn't know exactly what distraction, Tim had planned, but it had better be good.

Giving him a few minutes to start whatever it was he intended to do, she waited before lifting the trap door. Fong and Tsoi were closest to her among the crowd of Purple Dragons, facing away from her.

Creeping forward, her dad, Cait, Zach and Keno filed out after her. She tapped Fong on the shoulder, clapping a hand over his mouth to prevent him from crying out. His eyes widened and he thrashed before relaxing at the sight of her. She pulled her hand away from his mouth and jerked her head towards the trap door. He nodded. Good. Tim must have told him about the fall back location in the abandoned lot under the highway.

With a chain reaction of shoulder tapping, all the congregated Dragons were alerted and followed Fong out through the escape route. As they began to slowly clear out, Keno and her dad skirted the edges, making their way towards the rear stairwell up to the second floor where Tim assured them Hun would be waiting.

With less people, she could now hear the exaggerated kiai from the center of the room. Crouching against a nearby stack of old crates with Zach and Cait, she craned her neck around the side as they pulled down their goggles and put their breathers in. Out, in the center of the room, all eyes were on Tim, flailing his way through a homemade kata. It was like watching a train wreck. Awful, but impossible to look away from.

He finished and bowed, beaming proudly at the derision of the mercenaries. "I call it Dragon Form Number Five."

Shad nodded to Zach who activated the small detonator in his hand. The remaining glass and chunks of cement from each window behind the mercenaries on guard exploded simultaneously and the room rapidly clouded with choking white smoke. Even at this distance, it burned her eyes and nose.

With an eager grin, Zach activated the boot-skates, he borrowed from her brother's collection, and charged into the cloud, hockey stick at the ready, Casey the Next Generation. Cait just tightened her grip on her baseball bat as she followed him into the fray. With the advantage of sight and being able to breathe, they were to disarm the mercs and drive them out the front where Irma and Walt waited in the shellraiser and partywagon to fire on them from strategic chokepoints.

She should really be moving upstairs too, but there was one loose end that she couldn't ignore. "Tim! Get over here!"

Her shouted whisper, a calculated risk, paid off, sort of. She rolled to different cover as a spray of bullets decimated the crates she'd been ducked behind, but Timothy staggered out of the cloud of smoke that was rapidly filling the area. He managed a thumbs up between hacking coughs.

Jamming a burner phone in his hand, she shoved him towards the trap door. "Get clear and report this to the ATF. We need them here ASAP, so sound as panicked as you can."

Red eyed and hacking, he managed a salute before scuttling off.

She'd leave the mercenaries and their illegal weapons to the Feds and local law enforcement. Her fight was with Hun.

Hurrying to the stairs, she took them three at a time, less concerned about stealth now, but still trying to avoid sounding like a herd of elephants in the name of speed. The higher she rose the more the air cleared as the heavy chemical solution sank to the lower levels.

Rounding the top of the steps, she tucked herself against Alopex's weapons cabinet and peeked around the edge. Keno and her dad had Hun between them, fending off their flurry of punches and kicks with a single arm and leg each. How he balanced Keno's Muay Thai boxing and her father's surprisingly impressive street fighting, she didn't know. And since when could her dad kick such serious butt? He was supposed to be old. Then again, so was Sensei.

The fight turned as Hun caught one of Keno's knee strikes to his ribs, wrapping a hand solidly around Keno's calf. Hun dropped down underneath one of her dad's punches, wrenching his body around and taking Keno with him. Having yet to recover from his failed strike, Keno was off balance and toppled as Hun swung him towards her dad who elbow struck his ally down on reflex. Keno dropped and groaned, telegraphing that he was out of the fight.

With a roar of fury that shook even her, her dad threw himself at Hun in a blur of what should have been bone-crunching punches, which Hun barely deflected with his forearms, kept on the defensive as he struggled back to his feet.

Tempted as she was to check on Keno, she couldn't peel her eyes away from the fight. Trailing her gaze down Hun's body, she noticed, just in time, the hidden blade jut out of his boot and aimed straight at the exposed midsection of her father who was too focused on his own attacks to notice.

In that instant her dad's fury made absolute sense. A red haze clouded over her vision, as she darted out of hiding with a blood curdling scream. Hun barely broke off from her father in time to evade her hail of shruiken, hitting his back against the railing.

Anticipating a sword strike, he wasn't prepared, when she ducked his kick, sliding beneath him to ram the pommel of her blade into his groin. As he pitched forward, she pushed off her hands to hook her legs around his neck. With a twist of her body, she threw him over the railing.

The red haze cleared as she stared down at his unmoving body, bent at several unnatural angles in the mess of rebar he'd scattered when smashing through the crates below. What had she done?

"He's breathing. Come on."

Barely hearing the approaching sirens, she allowed her father to pull her away from the sight.

* * *

Consciousness slipping in and out, Hun could hear the sirens, growing ever louder. He needed to get out of here. To escape. But his body wouldn't respond to his mind's commands. He should be in a great deal of pain right now, but he couldn't feel a thing. Realizing what that meant, he closed his eyes and willed himself to finish dying and be done with it.

 _That's not what you really want. Is it?_

Who?

 _I can restore you. Give you the vengeance you seek._

How?

 _Serve me and find out. Unless you want it to end like this._

No, he did not. Any price was worth paying to avoid his current fate. He'd give anything. With a sigh he acquiesced to the bargain. Pain lanced through his body like liquid fire and his screams echoed through the now empty building.


	97. Chapter 96: Maturity VIII

**Maturity VIII:**

Raven plucked nervously at her suit in the rear seat of one of the EDF's deployment jets. She'd never tested it before and now she was going into battle hoping that it was more than the flimsy, silver spandex that it appeared to be.

Theoretically, the fibers running through the fabric were supposed to interact with and amplify her own natural energy field, increasing her power ten-fold or more. Dr. Chaplin himself had designed it. So it should be good. That did not make betting her life on it feel any better.

"Agent Shadowheart, are you sure you want me to drop you and leave?" The pilot's voice crackled through her headphones.

"Yes. You don't have the fuel to hang around and I have reason to believe that this target comes with a lot of collateral damage. I'll call for a pick up when I'm done."

"Roger. Radical set for deployment." Since he used her codename, she knew the message was also broadcast to base.

"Radical ready." She answered on the same channel and slipped the headgear off and locking it in the compartment in front of her, hoping she wasn't making a terrible miscalculation.

In theory, she should be able to survive rapid decompression at this altitude without ill effects. Again, untested. With a breath, she summoned her energy, wrapping it around her like a blanket. It vibrated in and around her with greater intensity that she'd ever experienced before. Point one for Chaplin's suit.

She unbuckled her restraint harness and braced herself up near the roof her seat. Time to see if Chaplin's jet was as effective as his suit. With a booted foot, she tapped a button on her dash, signaling the pilot.

From the compartment, she could hear the pilot's muffled voice crackling out of her headphones. "Radical launch."

The glass shield overhead, slid open and the wind ripped her out of the jet. As she was torn free, she could see Chaplin's stabilizers fighting to keep the jet under the pilot's control despite the violent change in its aerodynamics. It wobbled unsteadily, but remained level until the gap was sealed once more. That was two for Chaplin. The rest was up to her.

Considering that she was still conscious and lucid after being yanked out of a jet at fifty thousand feet, she was off to a promising start. Flaring her energy out around her like invisible wings, she got her wild tumbling under control, angling her body to into a dive towards the ground far below. It appeared to rocket up towards her, coming on fast.

At this distance she could now see the fire and smoke rising up from the unfortunate town below. One of many in this monster's trek up the continent. She couldn't even imagine the carnage that would be unleashed if it were allowed to reach a major city.

Close enough now, she slowed her dive, fanning out her arms and legs as pulled the cord on her vest, releasing her parachute. Drifting ever closer to the burning town, she used the pull cords at each side to adjust her direction and angle, more or less, towards an appropriate landing location, preferably somewhere not consumed in flame.

A she scanned for just such a spot, she saw him, like demon straight out of the movies. He sensed her approach and turned his bestial eyes towards her. With an animalistic growl, he ripped a chunk of cement out of the side of a nearby building, hurling it towards her. Fast. The chute wasn't responsive enough for her to dodge in time. Fortunately, his aim was high. Unfortunately, the projectile tore through her parachute.

Dropping like a rock now, she shifted her energy below her, smashing a crater into the ground as she landed, but protecting her from harm. Rising up from a crouch, she unhooked her chute attachments, letting them fall to the ruined street around her.

He was close. She could sense him. So familiar. Her eyes widened as she recognized the energy signature. It was the same as hers. Apparently her power was not as unique as she'd once believed. But how? Her father had created only one vial and it had all been used on her.

The monster rounded the corner. No, not exactly the same. It was wrong. Off somehow. Twisted and corrupt. As though someone had tried to recreate her father's experiment and gotten it horribly, horribly wrong. This wasn't some natural anomaly. Someone had done this. Someone who knew about her father's research. And possibly what happened to him.

As much as she longed to learn the truth about her father's abduction, the safety of the world came first. No matter what, she needed to stop this thing.

His soulless, glowing eyes narrowed in hatred as he caught her in his sights. With a roar, he charged her.

She jumped back and to the side, hoping he'd run right past her. She'd forgotten about her suit's amplification. Her leap launched her fifty feet into the air and she now she was coming down right on a burning building. She might be able to shield herself. And she might not.

Cringing, she willed the fall to stop. To her utter amazement, it did, leaving her hovering in the air. She could fly. Holy crap she could fly! A few experimental motions gave her a sense of how to control her newfound power.

But by that point, the beast had burst free from the burning building he'd crashed into, screaming in rage as he hurled one flaming projectile after another at her. With a few graceful twists, she evaded each scorched rock and burning chunk of wood, further frustrating the monster.

"Hazel!" Shocked that the creature knew her name, her original name, she froze, unable to move as he leapt up towards her.

She barely had a chance to brace herself as he plowed, full-force, into her. Reconfiguring her energy into armor, she skidded uninjured against the stone street, tearing it through to its foundation as they went. Transferring some of her power into leg strength, she used the momentum of the slide to launch him off of her, flipping up to her feet and spinning to face him.

"This is your fault! You're the reason I'm this! You are the cause of my suffering!"

They circled each other as he screamed. Who was he? Was he insane? Or was there some connection to her father's mysterious disappearance that she wasn't seeing?

He charged her again, launching a missile-strong punch that she parried as she followed up with a kick to his ribs. Even powered up, it was like striking a mountain, sending jarring pain throughout her. Her second of recovery cost her dearly. The monster clamped down on her shoulders, squeezing hard enough to crush her if she hadn't been pushing back with all her amplified power.

"Vile Kraang-spawn. I saw your father there. All your fathers. Experimenting on me for years. You dragged me into all this. And you will answer for my suffering."

She gasped and not just from the pain as her shield began to buckle. Her father? Kraang? No. It couldn't be. Even as she rejected the thought, her mind couldn't help recalling the men, completely identical to her dad, who'd come looking for him after he'd been taken. Could it be true? And if it was, what did this beast have to do with her? Why would he know her or her family?

In a last ditch effort, she plowed her forehead into his, staggering him back and causing him to drop her. But she could barely stand as the blow sloshed her brain around pretty hard in her skull.

He shook his head, recovering first. "I wish I'd never laid eyes on you."

Her heart stopped. She'd heard that before. When he'd walked away from their marriage.

"Max?" Her voice sounded strained.

His expression cleared and she could see the man she'd married there. His voice almost sounded familiar now. "Hazel? Oh God, Hazel, please. Stop me. Don't let me do this. Hazel!"

For a moment she could see him as that boy she'd first met, hired to do the chores on her grandfather's property. The way he'd smiled the first time he'd looked at her. And then he was gone, leaving only the monster behind.

Tears stung her eyes as she propelled herself forward with her newly-discovered power of flight. "Max. I'm so sorry. This is all I can do for you now."

They blew through several structurally unsound buildings before she slammed him into the ground again, plowing both her fists deep into his chest in a spray of blood. Summoning every last drop of energy within, she forced it into him, igniting their joint power in a supernova-esque blast.

* * *

Raven sat there on the edge of town, holding Max's limp body in her arms as the sun set. She was more drained than she'd ever been in her life. For the first time in years she couldn't feel the energy buzzing through her. Its loss made her feel hollow and empty.

Though still bestial in appearance, he was her Max again. His wounds were mortal, gaping holes in his chest, bleeding profusely. He looked scorched from the inside out, but at peace.

Part of her mind whirled with what he'd told her, precious intel that might matter if they survived the coming storm. But most of her attention was devoted to mourning everything she, they, had lost. There was no saving him now, but at least he could die as himself. Free. That was all she could give to him.

Despite his pain, he managed a tired smile. "Thank…you…"

His eyes drifted closed and he was gone. She bent over him, sobbing. This wasn't how it was supposed to end. He deserved better. Better than this death. Better than she'd treated him during their life. Better.

And there was no making it right now. All that remained was what she could do for the living, still in peril as their enemies closed in. Exhausted and miserable, she released him, forcing herself to her feet. She needed to find a phone, as hers had not survived the battle, and it looked like it was going to be a long walk. But she would make it. It was all she could do for him now.


	98. Chapter 97: Curiosity IV

**Curiosity IV:**

Oscar looked up and blinked at the white mist surrounding him. Ugh. Where was he and how had he gotten here? What was the last thing that he remembered?

He'd been working on shielding tech for the headquarters based off of the Fugitoid's specs. He'd finished a slew of weaponry, specially designed for their new foes to get it out to production facilities commandeered by the EDF in the name of global emergency, but there probably still wouldn't be enough time to produce and install very many before the battle hit. The rest would just have to protect their ringers.

With that taking the front seat, he was now racing to ensure their command center's survival in the event that their foes figured out where best to target. There was so much to do that he was operating on days without sleep.

That's what had happened. He must have passed out asleep in the lab. With his minions running about turning his genius diagrams into functional reality, there was probably no one around to wake him. Damn. He did not have time for this. The invasion could arrive any second and he didn't fancy getting blown off the face of the Earth before he could see his innovations shove the incoming aliens' arrogance right back in their faces. Wake up already!

"Oscar…"

Even knowing this was a dream, the sultry voice drive all worry and irritation from his mind, replacing it instead with a smoldering desire. She was suddenly in front of him. His Karai. Her golden eyes shining brightly in the dim setting.

Well, if he was dreaming, he might as well make the most of it. With more boldness than he probably would have been able to muster in reality, he reached out and grabbed her, pulling her into him, pleased with how pliantly she yielded to his will. Running his fingers through her short hair, he tilted her head back and pressed his hungry mouth to her rose-petal-soft lips.

But before he could truly savor the sensation of the kiss, her body pressed against him, she was gone, torn violently from his grasp. His eyes, closed to fully focus on his tactile senses now snapped open.

In the distance, through the mist, he could see her, thrown over the shoulder of that turtle-mutant. Her expression panicked, she reached out towards him as the distance between them grew.

"Oscar save me! Don't let him take me! Please, I belong with you."

He didn't care if this was a dream. He ran after them for all he was worth. Hearing his approach, the turtle turned its head to glare back at him with narrow blue eyes.

"Mine!" It hissed and threw some sort of bladed projectile at him.

Thunk.

He looked down to see a dagger embedded in his chest.

"Oscar, no! Please, no!"

He wanted to follow. To keep going. To rescue her, but his energy was slipping away. He sank to his knees as they vanished into the mist.

 _You want her don't you?_ The voice seemed to emanate from anywhere and nowhere, all around him.

Yes. More than anything.

 _She can be yours._

How?

 _Serve me and you will have her. I promise._

Part of his mind screamed danger. That this was a terrible idea. No good could come of it.

He looked longingly into the distance where she'd disappeared. "I agree."


	99. Chapter 98: Fierce V

**Fierce V:**

Channeling a focus he normally reserved for impressing Sensei, Raph blasted the punch into the hundred and fifty-pound bag, tearing it in half, spilling sand everywhere and sending the weighted metal stand flipping through the air to embed in the far wall.

"I guess that's better."

Raph turned to glare at Joi, leaning against the wall as she watched, unimpressed. "How is this supposed to be any different than Adam's strength anyway?"

She pursed her lips and thought for a moment as she gave the question serious consideration. Unusual based on all his other interactions with her.

"Well, power needs to be specifically called upon. Adam's strength is kind of always there. He needs to make a conscious effort to hold it back. When I first met him, he was still accidentally crushing the handle of ever door he tried to open. I'm pretty sure you can also use it internally."

Raph raised an eye ridge. "Internally? What the shell does that mean?"

She gestured up to the railed balcony that ran around the edge of the large training area, like some sort of raised running track. "Focus your power into her legs and go from here to there in a single jump."

Was she kidding? The track was about two stories up. He looked over at the mangled metal of the punching bag stand sticking out of the wall. No, she definitely wasn't kidding.

With effort, he pooled the tingly sensation he'd previously been accumulating into his fist and arm, into his legs and feet. He wasn't a fan of the sensation of using his power.

The tiny crackles of energy across his skin were suspiciously close to the feeling of bugs skittering all over him. But he wouldn't give his brothers the satisfaction of watching him shriek an octave higher than normal while batting wildly at his flesh. He'd spent years living down their discovery of his cockroach phobia and his desire not to give them, particularly Mikey, new fodder to tease him with was strong enough to maintain his self-control through the exercise.

The charged feeling in his legs peaked and he jumped, yelping loudly as he actually overshot his target. Only years of training under Master Splinter prevented him from splatting against the wall like a bug on a windshield.

Twisting his body in the air, he dispersed the energy from his legs and gently pushed off the wall with his feet, careful, not to launch himself back into the center of the room. As it was, he still sailed too far back to land on the track, instead having to catch himself in a crouch on the top of the railing.

From his new vantage point, he could see the rest of his family training. Well, most of them anyway. He shouldn't be surprised that Mikey had wandered off. Adam was probably too gentle to give his little brother the whack across the back of the head he usually needed to stay on track. But Mikey was nowhere to be seen and Adam had wandered over to watch Tora training Venus and Donnie. Beyond that Faraji was working with Leo.

A rush of air at his side told him that Joi had speedstered her way up to him. "See, now that's what I'm talking about. Obviously gotta work on the aim though."

He glowered at her. "I could've gotten killed. You call this training?"

She shrugged. "But you didn't."

His teeth ground in frustration. "What'd I do to get stuck learning from you?"

She grinned. "Independence remember? You're not going to take instruction well from anyone who's really trying to teach. Learning the hard way is your thing from now on if it wasn't already before."

He looked back down into the room, grunting with annoyance. Yeah, he never did learn conventionally. His father had generally resorted to turning most of his exercises into challenges to be overcome, channeling his natural competitive streak into stunning results that rivaled Leo's studious perfection.

Unfortunately, that personality trait had given him the most difficulty with mastering teamwork. But he doubted any family was more close-knit that his and independent or not, he was bound to his brothers, giving him connection he needed to work like a well-oiled machine with the rest of them when they fought as one. So he could have learned from someone, anyone else, if they would've given him a shot. But no. They'd assumed he'd be a problem and stuck him with Joi.

"Besides, I don't mind a bit of power." She ran her hand down his bicep and he jerked back hard enough to unbalance himself, toppling back onto his shell on the track.

She smirked down at him. "What's the matter? A little shy? I can fix that."

Ok, that was it! He flipped back up to his feet and poked her in the shoulder, staggering her back as he spoke. "You need to back off lady. I've already made it clear that I'm with Mona and you ain't gonna change that."

She didn't lose her smile. "I'm not afraid of a challenge."

Glaring he crossed his arms. "That so? You really gonna want what you get if you win? A man who just tosses someone he loves aside cuz some pretty face bats her eyes at him? A man whom loyalty means nothing to? That's what you're looking for?"

Now her smile slipped and she looked away, jaw clenched. "No."

"Then let it go already."

She eyed him slowly out of the edge of her vision, before letting out her breath in a huff. "Fine."

"Good. Now maybe we can finally work together without it being weird for a change."

She gripped the railing and doubled over laughing. He didn't think what he'd said was particularly funny, but she apparently did. Wiping the tears from her eyes as the laughter faded, she turned and really looked at him for once. "Yeah, maybe we can."

"Raph. Joi. We need to meet Bishop in the command center." At the sound of Leo's voice, he looked away to see everyone filing towards the doors.

Vaulting the railing in a single, fluid motion, he rolled his landing and caught up to them in seconds. Joi rejoined the group in a whooshing blur of motion. Mona, Renet and Miwa were approaching from the far end of the hall and Leo held the group for them to join before continuing forward.

Mona melted against him and he nuzzled her snout, not caring at all if he was making everyone else uncomfortable. The rest of the world seemed to disappear when she was flush against him. Leo cleared his throat and he reluctantly released her.

Then Leo turned to Renet. "Think you could grab Mikey and meet us in the command center?"

She grinned. "Yup. I bet I know where he is too."

Raph rolled his eyes. "Because that's a hard guess if he's not with you."

"Well, he's probably disappointed." Donnie held up Mikey's badge. "I found it on the way out of the training room."

Renet laughed. "I'll make sure he's not distracted by hunger before I bring him." Then she turned and disappeared the way she'd come.

Raph shook his head, then moved up to the front to find out what Leo knew about this meeting.

* * *

Mona was about to follow Raph up to the front, curious about his new abilities when Joi appeared beside her, startling her enough to make her jump. Catching Joi's smug expression, she had to physically resist the urge to punch in the girl's teeth. Raph was hers and she was better than that, no matter what Joi thought.

"So you really think you deserve him?"

Screw being batter than that. With a growl, she rounded on Joi. "What? Are done throwing yourself at him and getting rejected? Because that's what happened, isn't it? Well, I got news for you. If you think you can split us by taking a run at me, you've got another thing coming."

Joi didn't even look phased. If anything, her expression was…approving? "I've decided to back off…for the moment, but I haven't given up. The instant you screw this up, I'm swooping in."

Mona snorted. "Good luck with that. You'll be waiting forever."

Joi shrugged. "We'll see."

Mona resisted the urge to punch again as they all filtered into the command center.

She could see Leo approaching Bishop. "I'm pretty sure we have everything as finalized as it's ever going to be."

Bishop looked up from his computer console. "It's important to make sure every factor is considered."

Leo crossed his arms. "You know, no plan ever survives contact with enemy. It is how we react to the unexpected that will determine our success."

Bishop raised an eyebrow above the frame of his glasses.

"My father." Leo explained the origin of the quote he'd used and Mona racked her brain to recall whether or not she'd ever heard Sensei say that. It could have been before her time with the clan.

Bishop sighed and responded with a quote of his own. "In preparing for battle, I have always found that plans are useless but planning is indispensable. I didn't agree with Eisenhower at the time, but have since come around to the same opinion."

She blinked in shock. Did he just say that he knew Eisenhower in person? Had worked with him? How? He didn't look that old. She caught the shared glances among everyone else and knew they were wondering the same thing.

Bishop started to say something else but was interrupted by the ring of a video call. Scowling in annoyance, he answered on the computer in front of him. "This is not a good time."

"But the annual EDF fundraiser…"

"…is safe in your capable hands."

Mona almost choked. She'd know that voice anywhere. But how?

Leo smirked in rather Raph-like fashion. "Fundraiser? Don't you already have unlimited funding?"

Bishop's eyes flicked up at Leo from the screen. "Even with the backing of the UN and world nations, running an organization of the EDF's scope is expensive and still requires the support of wealthy individuals and international corporations, many of which command more economic resources than most countries. So yes, my primary lead for private fundraising does have a direct line to me." His eyes turned back to the screen. "But as I said, this is not a good time."

"Well, when then? There are decisions that need to be made."

It was her. No mistaking who that voice belonged to.

"Depending on how the next few weeks go, I'm quite certain that convincing donors of the value of the EDF will not be an issue." Bishop replied sardonically.

"You expect me to put everything on hold for a few weeks?"

"Why not? Handling people is what you're good at, isn't it mom?" The silent pause that followed Mona's interjection was deafening.

"Lisa?" Her mom's voice sounded confused as she called out.

Bishop focused on her, making her feel acutely uncomfortable even through the shock of her discovery. "You are Lisa Webster?"

"Director Bishop, what is my daughter doing there?"

He didn't even glance back at the screen. "That's classified."

Her mother pleaded. "Please don't imprison her. I swear she hasn't shown any signs of mutant deviancy."

"Mutant deviancy?" She echoed her mother's words, before her brain could catch up with what her body was doing.

"Yes, honey. But the director is researching a cure and soon you'll be right as rain. He told us all about how mutation warps the mind, making its victims dangerous and violent. But we will save you. The director has promised me, so long as I keep the funding rolling in. I know it's already been a few years, but hang on. We'll have you normal again soon."

She froze as her brain took a moment to process her mother's words. Her mother thought Raph was a violent lunatic…because of Bishop. The past three years…all his fault…

With a roar of fury, she launched herself at Bishop, barely caught in time by Raph as he wrapped his arms around her waist and used his own weight to drag her down with him while she continued trying to claw her way towards Bishop to rip his throat out.

"Not helping our case." Raph grunted out as she thrashed in his arms.

"Lisa? Lisa are you ok?"

Her mother's worried voice cut through her anger and with a few deep breaths, she regained her self-mastery, relaxing against Raph, allowing him to stroke her hair in long, soothing motions.

"I'm fine." She gritted out, not about to mention that she'd had access to retromutagen for years and had simply chosen not to use it.

"Well, it must certainly gall you to be stuck working with such loose cannons as us." Miwa's snarky comment caught Bishop's attention.

With a sigh, he turned back to the computer screen. "We've been reevaluating are stance on the mental instability of mutants. It's on a more case by case basis now."

"What?" Her poor mother sounded bewildered.

Mona pulled free of Raph's hold. Well, he more let her go, trusting that she was calm now. Invading Bishop's space, she pushed into view of the monitor, catching her first sight of her mom, frazzled despite the perfect coiffure and immaculate make up, jewelry and clothing.

"Mom, I've been this way for three years now. Three years. In that time, have I or Raph, ever given you any reason to believe that we are violently insane?" She paused as he considered her words. "Taking into account what you know of my personality from when I was human."

Her mother smiled at that and conceded, "I suppose not."

She took a calming breath, taking a second to glare at Bishop before continuing. "So, setting the director's mistake aside, can we try starting over?"

Her mom's eyes shimmered with unshed tears as pressed her palm against the screen. "Yes, I'd like that. But, honey, what are you doing at the EDF?"

Mona smiled, flooded with relief. They were going to be just fine.

"It's complicated, but Raph and I will explain everything when we get home. Just give us some time."

Her mother nodded slowly. "I trust you darling. Please come home soon."

"I promise." She really hoped that it was a promise she could keep.

"As I said, this isn't a good time. We will resume discussions later." Bishop shoved his way into their moment.

"Wuh?" Her mother was cut off as Bishop ended the call and Raph caught her fist just before she buried it into Bishop's jaw.

Bishop didn't even react to her near attack, reverting straight back into planning-meeting-mode. But before he could get a word out, his phone went off. With a sigh of annoyance, he pulled it out and read the screen before answering.

"Radical, what are you doing in South America? You're needed at headquarters."

His normally blank face, expressionless to the point of creepy, scrunched up in consternation.

"What do you mean your powers are burnt out?"

Whatever Radical was saying, only ramped up Bishop's frustration. Mona had to admit, she was enjoying this a little too much.

"I'm sure that your intelligence on the Kraang's turnstone device is essential, but we are facing a more immediate threat at the moment. One we were counting on your abilities to help stop."

He pushed up his glasses to rub the bridge of his nose as he listened.

"Fine. Then find your own way back. We don't have the resources to spare on retrieving you right now."

He snapped the phone shut and tucked it away, turning back to Leo. "Radical is out. Given that we have nothing to replace her with…"

"I wouldn't be so sure about that." They all turned to Kurtzman, standing in the doorframe.

He stepped into the room, making way for a nightmarish, trash monster. Mona would have screamed if she weren't already busy gagging on the smell.

It waved at the group. "Hey, turtlemen. Good ta see ya again."

Its eyeball popped out, waving too as it somehow spoke in a voice high pitched enough to make Mickey Mouse proud. "Salutations everyone."

Raph caught Mona as she reeled and huffed out a laugh. "Muckman? Really?"

"You mean the Noxious Avenger!" Mikey entered behind him, posing dramatically to showcase the garbage mutant as Renet followed with her nose plugged. How was Mikey able to breathe in such close proximity the stench?

Leo smiled. "We're glad to have you here." Bishop cast Leo a skeptical glance. "Trust me, he'll be a perfect fill for Radical's role." Leo turned back to Muckman. "Up for helping us save the world?"

Muckman smiled disgustingly enough to make Mona shudder. She desperately hoped she hadn't been assigned to the same group as Radical originally. He punched his palm, sending gobs of viscous waste splattering across the room. "Yeah. We're heroes ain't we? Let's do this!"

Fugitoid rushed into the room, bowling Mikey over, his eye lights, concentric blinking circles. "They're here! The invasion! It's begun!"


	100. Chapter 99: Extinction III

**Extinction III:**

The Triceraton armada pulled out of warp to hover just outside of the tug of planet's gravity and Commander Mozar was able to get his first direct view of his new home world, amid the scans and readings that littered the screen. It was excellent.

The topography was varied from long mountain ranges to vast plans and everything in between. The land was lush and verdant with a wealth of resources only beginning to be tapped to their full potential. Fresh water was plentiful, though, if need be, the seemingly limitless supply of saltwater could be converted to suit their needs. It was everything that he'd been promised.

Sure the atmosphere needed a little work to be breathable and there was a great lot of clutter from the current inhabitants that would need to be cleared away, but he couldn't have hoped for a better planet.

With their new secret weapon, the atmosphere would be completely altered to suit their needs in a matter of weeks, though first they would need to systematically convert the plant and animal life they wanted to keep, probably to something that could sustain in both environments as the transition process would not be instantaneous. He'd set scientists to work on that, so he expected a perfect solution would be ready for him upon request.

But first things first. The aliens currently squatting on this world would need to be dealt with. His lip curled into a sneer as he surveyed their civilizations. What a mess. They should thank him for taking control and setting things right. Especially now that he no longer needed to wipe them out wholesale. Well, obviously a lot of them still would need to be exterminated, they were simply too numerous, but the rest could be changed into something useful for the greater glory of the Triceraton Empire. No longer would there be those among his people forced to demean themselves with drudge work. He had a whole new underclass at his disposal. Things were looking up.

"Commander?"

His eye ridge twitched at the sound of his aide's voice. "What is it Zog?"

"Our scientists say that the Turnstone is installed and ready for use at your command."

Finally, some good news from the obnoxious little suck up. "Excellent. I think it's time we tested our new device out."

He scanned the map, before finally deciding on a particular target. "There. I want that mountain transformed into an active volcano."

It was a simple and useful request. Volcanoes were an excellent source of fertile soil for agriculture. That they now had the capacity to turn them on and off at will was too good to be true.

Zog shifted. "Uh, Commander, that's a very large target…"

Mozar turned slowly towards Zog. "Are you saying that it is beyond our capabilities?"

Zog cringed away. "Of course not sir. Our scientists have created a workaround for converting larger areas at a time. They've created beacons that can be set up as target points. The Turnstone can be funneled into many beacons simultaneously. Not only will the wielder of the beacon be immune to the Turnstone's effects, but they will be able to customize the alterations to various items in the area of impact. We need only send a soldier down with a beacon and that mountain will be a volcano."

Mozar raised a hand. "Wait." On second thought, he knew exactly what he wanted to begin with. "I want troops with beacons sent to the largest pustules those aliens call cities. Clear them straight off the map."

Zog bowed. "As you will, Commander."

"And Zog." Zog paused as Mozar's voice caught him mid-step. "I want you handle one of those cities personally."

Zog brightened up. "Yes sir, thank you sir."

With any luck, Zog would get himself killed on mission. Feeling in a better mood than he had in ages, Mozar prepared to report their status to the Prime Leader personally.

Until warning alarms went off all across the bridge.

"What is it?" He growled out the question and the technicians at the consoles in front of him flinched.

"It's the Malignoids, Commander." They've appeared on the other side of the planet."

His eyes narrowed in hate. "Scramble the fighters. I want a contingent protecting the beacon mission. The rest are too squash those pests. This world is ours."


	101. Chapter 100: Swarm II

**Swarm II:**

The Malignoids pulled into orbit across from the Triceraton fleet. Queen Maligna clacked her clawed appendages together as she impatiently awaited the arrival of her subordinates, Scul and Bean. They rushed in and supplicated themselves before her.

"Well?"

They rose, Scul beating Bean to delivering the report. "Most exalted majesty, we have arrived just after the Triceratons. They've barely had a chance to look upon this planet they covet."

Her smile widened, stretching her features. "Excellent. I want them to watch as we take this world from them."

Bean stepped in. "Surely, they will send an attack force…"

Maligna waved one her many clawed hands dismissively. "Have Lord Dregg organize our own forces to swat them down. In the meantime, I want our tunnelers to punch through the thin crust of this planet to make way for the magma depth charges. We'll collapse this world from the inside out and make them watch before we crush the pathetic remains of their worthless civilization."


	102. Chapter 101: Just VI

**Just VI:**

"What are we listening to?"

Leo, upon hearing Raph's question, opted to focus on piloting the experimental spacecraft rather than turn to look at him. He could guess Raph's expression well enough anyway. "Uh, pirate metal."

"It's what? Why are we listening to pirate metal?"

Leo cringed in embarrassment. "You can thank the newest member of the Mutanimals for that."

He could hear his brother's derisive snort. "And how did Mondo pull that off?"

"Candy Fine is actually the newest member and she's very good at her job. I'm just glad she chose the career she did, because she would have made a terrifyingly effective con artist."

He could hear Mikey snicker. "Oh man, you totally got played bro."

Sighing heavily, he responded. "Can we all just focus, please? Donnie, how is the cloaking device coming along?"

Don's answer was prefaced with a clearing of his throat, not usually a good sign. "Uh, there's some technical difficulties, but I've got this."

Karai's sharp voice cut in. "Get it faster. The radar says we'll be closing on the Triceratons any moment now."

Leo felt his stomach drop. It suddenly occurred to him that a sizable chunk of the people he cared about were riding along with him and at risk of being blown to smithereens in the rapidly nearing confrontation with the Triceratons.

The inside of the ship kind of looked like an airplane that had all the exterior walls sci-fi-teched up. The cockpit area he shared with Donnie wasn't walled off from the rest of the vessel and the seats were more individual, with the ones along the control-panel-covered walls able to swivel around. It wasn't a stable design, but if this thing crashed, seat belts were more for peace of mind than any actual protection.

Behind him, the seats went in rows of three, with the middle seats locked into forward position. The first row after him and Donnie had Raph and Karai on the sides with Mikey in the middle in the hopes that it would keep him from curiously touching any of the many tempting buttons.

The next row after held Mona and Renet seated at the edges with Venus in the middle, stiff, tight-lipped and clutching her armrests tightly enough to dent the metal. If they weren't flying off into battle, she could probably have used a sedative to get her through this.

After them came April and Alopex at the edges with Bebop locked between them. Tech savvy has he was, he had a history of doing amazingly dumb things and Leo would rather have him contained.

The second to last row seated Angel and Casey on the sides with Rocksteady in the center. That he'd given Casey access to any of the controls was a testament to the extent to which he did not trust Rocksteady's judgement with anything more scientifically advanced than a pet rock.

The final row held Tigerclaw and Rahzar on the edges with Fishface crammed in between. Competent they might be, but Leo wasn't about to cut any of them the slightest amount of slack and planned to keep them on a short leash. Well as much as the plan allowed anyway. The control panels ended just short of their row and the three of them were passengers only.

They broke through the upper atmosphere, right into a Triceraton squadron. Leo cursed as their enemies opened fire on them.

"Donnie!"

"I'm working on it!"

Taking a steadying breath, he banked aside, spinning, dipping and darting through the explosive barrage. Not that he had much attention to spare, but as far as he could tell, the only ones who weren't sharing Venus's trepidation now were Raph and Karai, who returned fire with disturbingly manic glee.

He barrel-rolled the ship away from the enemy leader's following line of fire, hearing the sounds of heaving in back followed by several vocal protests. The maneuver ended with him facing off with yet another Triceraton ship, its cannon nearly fully charged.

Reacting without thought, he nosedived beneath the massive blast that rocked their ship, just as Donnie cried out in triumph. No more attacks. They were invisible.

Sagging back in his seat in relief, he smiled. He'd totally Captain Ryan'ed those alien bastards. Setting a much smoother course for the Triceraton flagship, he navigated his way carefully through the cloud of emerging enemy ships, carefully sneaking into one of the ports from which they were exiting.

Fluidly landing the ship, he turned to Donnie. "Do you have to drop the cloak for us to exit?"

Donnie considered the question. "Technically, no. But if anyone is around, they'll still see us the moment we exit the field."

He nodded, unbuckled and stood to face his team, most of which were looking a little worse for wear after the space acrobatics. "Ok, we've got the Fugitoid's best guess of the base's layout, founded on what he knows about Triceraton civilization. You all have your missions. When the coast is clear, we split up and head out."

* * *

Zeno fired at the Earthen spacecraft, forcing it into his lieutenant's waiting attack. After the momentarily blinding blast, the enemy ship was gone.

His com link crackled. "General Traximus, we've completely vaporized them."

Activating his own microphone, he answered, "don't get cocky. There could be more."

"Yes sir."

He stared at the empty space where the ship had once been, his instincts nagging at him. He didn't trust this victory. From their planetary evaluations, the Earthens shouldn't have anything close to that level of technology. Something was wrong.

"Continue with the mission. I will rejoin you later."

"But, General Traximus…"

"I said continue with the mission!" With that he cut the com link and headed back towards the flagship. If he'd been an enemy who slipped the noose, that's where he would go.


	103. Chapter 102: Atonement V

**Atonement V:**

Saki sat stiff-backed in his seat, gripping the chair handles tightly and questioning the wisdom of acquiescing to Mondo Gecko's request to pilot. Mastery of flight simulation video games shouldn't have qualified as experience, but no one else besides Dr. Rockwell even came close, except he was needed to manage all of the rest of the systems.

So Rockwell and the gecko mutant sat at the front, veering them wildly about as Pimiko and Carter, positioned on either side of him in the second row, blasted what looked like little space cocoons into pieces with the weapon systems. He glanced back to the row behind him where Aditi sat on the left, giving him a tight-lipped but encouraging nod when she saw him looking. Beside her sat Yoshi in the center, fulfilling his desire to be as far removed as possible from the nonsensical technology surrounding them, and Amaya at the far right.

Beyond them, his team was full of relative unknowns, some of whom, he'd had a chance to read the EDF's dossiers on, the rest, he could only take their word on what they could do. The fourth row held the mystery members of his team. The large man, Adam, took the center, flanked by the blonde woman who needed to learn humility, Joi, on the right and the man playing at being a samurai, Tora, on the left.

Further back, saw the Mutanimal's leader, Slash, crammed into the center seat with the fox woman, Umeko, at his side on the right and the leader of the unknown team members, Faraji, seated to his left. The final row contained the annoying pigeon mutant, Pete, in the center smooshed in between the enormous Leatherhead on his left and the gloppy Muckman on his right. Despite being placed about as far away as possible, the garbage mutant's scent seemed to permeate the entire space. Saki mostly managed to ignore it by focusing all his attention on the battle playing out in front of them.

They'd broken through the atmosphere into a cluster of enemy ships, if they could be called that, clearly set on another task, before all redirecting their attention to the arrival of Saki's vessel. Despite his unnecessary and gratuitous use of nauseating spins and dives, the small, reptilian pilot was keeping them out of the way of their enemy's globular and barb-like projectiles, just barely, as he wound their way towards the Malignoid mothership, assuming that the Fugitoid's assessment of the alien vessels was correct.

Their ship broke through the grouping with what appeared to be a clear shot towards their goal, until several orifices on the mothership opened up, unleashing a fresh swarm. The ships in this unit were shaped like gigantic, translucent hornets. Through the lead ship, he could see a huge, freakish, purple bugman with neon-green accents, the one they probably most needed to take out.

"How's it coming, doc?" Mondo Gecko didn't take his eyes off their flight path as he called out to the primate mutant.

Rockwell's hand played furious across the console interface, reminding Saki of a concert pianist. "The cloaking is up. They must have a more expansive sensory range than the Fugitoid surmised."

"Let's do this then!" Mondo Gecko shoved the control stick as far forward as it would go with one hand while raising the other in the air with only his index finger and pinky extended.

The ship dove down, just barely ducking under a barrage of enormous hornet stingers that unfortunately reloaded the moment they were launched. Yanking the stick back, their ship veered upward, clipping the wings off one of the enemy vessels as it shot into the middle of the swarm, scrambling to reorient itself. Mondo Gecko spun their ship as they went, scattering Pimiko and Carter's fire in all directions, blasting the ships all around them.

Just as they burst through the top of the swarm, a hornet barb shot through the rear of their ship, narrowly missing the back row and causing most of their air to be violently sucked out into space, before the gel of the Fugitoid's emergency systems flowed out in enough quantity to pugged the gaping holes as it puffed up and inflated. The patch was disturbingly fragile for a firefight in space.

"Uh oh, no control dudes!"

Mondo Gecko's revelation came a second before their ship, reeling from its own momentum and the force of the hit completely redirecting them, dropped into a spinning fall, straight towards the Malignoid mothership. Their dive was abruptly halted as they smashed into the side of the massive ship, which was fortunately more pliant than any space vessel had a right to be.

Mondo Gecko dangled forward in his seat restraints, groaning as he and the rest of them recovered from the jarring effects of their 'emergency' landing. "Well, I got us here."


	104. Chapter 103: At Any Cost IV

**At Any Cost IV:**

Fugitoid shifted awkwardly, keeping Director Bishop in the periphery of his visual sensors as he interfaced with the various systems in the command center, tracking the alien attacks and Earth's countermeasures. As important as the not-quite-right man was to the survival of the planet, he couldn't shake the sense that he was extremely dangerous. All his instincts, honed evading the D'Hoonibians, were screaming at him to distance himself from Bishop, avoiding drawing the predator's attention, but there was too much at stake to give into his survival-based impulses, so, fidgeting aside, he forced himself to hold his ground and keep working.

An emerging pattern in his observations, drew his focus away from the discomfort that Bishop inspired. The Malignoid force seemed arranged into two groups of dual purpose, one protecting the other. The protected group appeared to be…oh dear!

Their objective became crystal clear in a single, horrifying instant. No! "Director Bishop, we have a problem."

Bishop's eyes narrowed behind the rectangular frames of glass he wore on his face, not for improving vision as was typically the custom on Earth, but to discretely hold and display an array of incoming data streams that Fugitoid could only detect as wirelessly sent signals. He did his best not to involuntarily move away as Bishop stepped closer to him.

"Report."

Not actually needing to physically control the computer systems that he was now integrated with, to a limited extent, Fugitoid mentally called the spearhead of the Malignoid forces into primary focus on the screen. "Those units, heading towards the surface, are burrowers."

"And?" Bishop was waiting for bad news that Fugitoid was holding back.

"Those outer carapaces aren't normal. They appear to be shielded against extreme heat. And if I'm not mistaken, the devices attached to the rear of each is a seismic depth charge." He would know better than most. He'd seen the device among the D'Hoonibian collection during his brief stay. They must have reversed engineered the designs and sold them to the Malignoids.

Bishop frowned. "Seismic depth charges. That means…"

"If they are detonated deep in the Earth's mantle, they'll burst the planet like a small super nova." Fugitoid finished for him.

Bishop tapped the Bluetooth headset affixed to his ear. "General Cage, you have new orders. The beta-class of Malignoid ships are no longer a secondary threat. Destroy them. At any cost, you must destroy them all."

Fugitoid experienced a ripple of dismay. The change of tactics would leave Earth vulnerable to the invading Triceratons and they would pay dearly for it with the Malignoid main force protecting the burrowers, but he could think of no alternatives and if they failed in this, Earth was done.

Except, just as the united forces of Earth's aerial military redirected their attack, the Malignoid squadrons veered off to join the small contingent that had been pursuing Agent Oroku's vessel and had…oh dear…smashed into the Malignoid flagship.

While it was technically a stroke of good fortune, perhaps not for Agent Oroku and his team, he couldn't help internally flinching away from the data feed of the dog fight. The specially modified ships, destructive weapons of his own creation, well his and Dr. Chaplin's, were tearing mercilessly through the Malignoid burrowers, rendering the depth charges harmless as they disintegrated without activation. Not that the forces of Earth weren't taking their own heavy losses to accomplish the goal, but the carnage on both sides made him feel ill, an irrational sensation as he wasn't organic and hadn't been for a very long time.

As hopeful as the distressing countermove against the Malignoids was, that still left the Triceratons moving unopposed. Redirecting his attention back towards them, he momentarily froze in shock.

How?

Their landing parties were infiltrating major cities, that was to be expected. What wasn't expected was the sudden transformation of a few of those cities, their geography, architecture,…their inhabitants, all becoming land, structures and creatures native to what was once the Triceraton home world.

How was such an alteration of matter possible? Even he was at a loss to explain it. Mysterious as the causal agent was, the consequences lacked no such ambiguity. It also explained why the Triceraton units were smaller and more targeted.

"Director Bishop, we have another problem."

* * *

Annoyed at his own waste of precious time, Bishop gaped in disbelief at the new prehistoric versions of several essential planetary cities. He may have been caught off guard by the opening salvo, but this alien desecration would not be Earth's fate. Not while he still lived.

Using eye movements, he flicked quickly through his high priority contacts, laid out on the lens of his ocular display, until he reached the commander of his ground troops. Activating the head set, he made the call. "General Zhang, I need special forces active in major world cities, the list will be sent to you shortly. It is essential that they stop the Triceraton strike forces and obliterate the devices they carry with them."

"I believe that they're anchors for the transformational technology."

He ignored the Fugitoid's interjection. "Activate any units stationed in the targeted cities and move in support troops as quickly as you can. I don't care what it takes, just don't let those aliens corrupt any more of our world."

Barely hearing Zhang's affirmation of the orders, he selected the city list that Fugitoid had compiled for him with a few more flicks of his eyes and pressed another button on his headset to transfer it to the active caller before ending the communication.

He then divided his attention between the dwindling Malignoid burrowers and the energy signatures of the 'anchors,' as Fugitoid had called them, starting to wink out of existence. Excellent.

Until his earpiece pinged with an incoming communication. General Zhang. "Report."

"Troops are clashing in all listed cities except the United States's New York City. Our team there was obliterated by the Triceraton landing party and support troops will not arrive in time to save it."

"Understood." Bishop ended the call.

Damn. He hated to lose. Wait, had Zhang said New York? He might not lose that battle after all.

Fortunately, during the stay of his mutant guests, he'd taken the opportunity to have Chaplin and Lillja, reluctant as the old crank had been, install some spyware into their communication network while their tech expert had been too distracted with saving his fatally ill teammate to notice. Careful observation and eavesdropping had revealed that the mutants had capable allies in New York City that could be put to use in this situation.

Forced to use one of the physical terminals, he called up the program and selected what had been labeled as the most likely to be the next highest in the chain of command from the contact list.

A few rings later, a disturbingly young-sounding, female voice answered. "Who is this?"

Any port in a storm. "That is immaterial. You are an ally of Leonardo Hamato, correct?"

"You know, Leo? How?" Her voice rang with disbelief.

"Also, immaterial. New York is in imminent danger and your assistance is required." Taking advantage of her stunned silence, he proceeded. "A Triceraton strike force has landed in your city and has destroyed the military units stationed there. We will be mobilizing local law enforcement, but they aren't trained for this kind of mission. Based on your association to Leonardo's team, I assume you are." At least he hoped so. She sounded like a child. "You must stop them and the technology they carry before they can use it to transform the entire city, much as the Kraang attempted to do years ago."

His eyes flicked to a side screen zoomed on the energy signature of New York's anchor. "They appear to be heading towards the One World Trade Center building, likely seeking the highest point to activate their device."

"But…" She spluttered out a flustered protest.

"Time is of the essence. I suggest you get moving."

He terminated the call just in time for the Fugitoid to nervously bring another problem to his attention.

"Director Bishop, four of the Malignoid burrowers have made it through and are currently tunneling into the Earth's crust."

Always more fires to put out. "What damage are they capable of?"

The Fugitoid whirred and beeped as it processed the question. "They won't be capable of total planetary destruction, but if activated, the damage caused by their seismic depth charges to the planet's surface will be incalculable in terms of earthquakes and tidal waves."

He frowned. "Suggestions for diffusing the devices?"

Fugitoid tapped its large, metal fingers together. "Well, I could put together small, counter-explosives that, if properly implemented, could interrupt the activation sequence of the charges and prevent proper detonation. But they would only work if triggered strategically on the actual depth charges. I have no idea how to get them into that position."

"That's not your concern. Go to Dr. Lillja's lab and begin constructing them with him."

The Fugitoid hesitated, as though prepared to argue further, but seemed to think better of it, before turning to leave the command center.

Before it was out the door, he was already calling Chaplin.

"Sir?"

"What is the state of project CY584b?"

"The Gang of Four? In development."

He resisted the urge to grind his teeth at the nickname for his robotic soldier project. "You'll need to deploy them for a mission within the hour."

"What? They aren't ready!" Chaplin's voice became high and reedy in protest.

"Then make them ready. They're about to get a test run."


	105. Chapter 104: Yin and Yang V

**Yin and Yang V:**

April groaned and dropped to one knee holding her head.

"Are you ok?"

Eyes bleary, she looked up to see that Donnie and Venus had stopped and turned back to look at her. She frowned at Donnie and he sighed, switching methods of communication.

 _There's no one here, I'm sure I can risk a single question out loud._

She pursed her lips. _We can't afford to draw attention to ourselves._

He just shook his head. _Fine. Are you ok?_

She managed a weak smile. _Well enough. I just got a bit of a rough transmission from Dr. Rockwell. Their team has landed, if you can call it that._

Donnie nodded thoughtfully. _Good. Let's keep moving. Leo needs us to complete our objective, the sooner the better._

She shakily regained her feet. Keeping such a large group in a mental com-link while maintaining a tenuous connection to Dr. Rockwell across a vast distance, was taking its toll despite the years of training she'd put into mastering and building up her psychic abilities. She could already feel the strain and knew that there would a few days of brain-burning migraine in her future. Fun. But at least Earth would still be around for her to wallow in self-pity on. That was something.

 _I'm ready. Let's keep moving._

* * *

"More with da voices in da head. Is creepy, comrade."

A disembodied voice answered Rocksteady as he tromped loudly down the primitive, stone hallway. "Like bein' haunted, yo. It's givin' me the shivers."

Rocksteady rolled his eyes. "You are creepy like ghost too, comrade."

"Hey, that's cold. Ice cold. I'm you're invincible, back-up power. A little respect, puh-leeze."

Rocksteady shook his head. "Shouldn't you be making with da quiet stealth?"

"Why Rockman? We are supposed to be loud."

"I am supposed to be da loud. You are da invisible."

"Ain't nobody gonna find this, baby."

Rocksteady huffed. "I do not like being called da baby, comrade."

Before Bebop could respond to him, he turned a corner at the same time a patrol of Triceratons did likewise at the far end of the hall. As one of the horned soldiers spoke into what he could only assume was an alien walkie talkie, the Fugitoid's translator monotonously produced words out of the foreign sounds.

"We've located one of the intruders. Back up required in scale-sector-twelve."

Rocksteady snorted a puff of air out through his nostrils. "It looks like I have da attention, eh?" Not waiting for an answer, he lowered his horn and charged them with a roar.

Startled, they lined up and prepared to fire on him, until a spiral of purple laser blasts, sent several of their firearms flying out of their hands.

"Aww snap, didn't see that coming you prehistoric patsies."

The lead dinosaur looked up into the empty space of the hallway where the surprise attack had come from. "There's more, cloaked, be on your guar…" He didn't finish as Rocksteady plowed into him, driving him through his troops into the far wall where the hallway turned.

Letting the leader, slide unconscious to the floor, he spun around, hammer and sickle at the ready. He caught the next two by surprise, using the hammer to stun, in what would be lethally crushing blows to any less-sturdy opponent. While his sickle slid harmlessly across their scales, it was fully effective against eyes, giving him the opening he needed to slit throats from the inside during the involuntary, follow-up scream.

While the laser blasts only seemed to singe their natural armor, Bebop's barrage of untraceable fire kept most of the soldiers off balance and too distracted to close ranks on Rocksteady. At least for the first couple minutes. After another three dinosaurs fell before the mutant rhino, the Triceratons began to grasp their strategy.

"Time to bounce, yo!"

"I am in agreement, comrade. Let us make da tracks."

Rocksteady shouldered his way out of the press of dinosaur bodies and began running back the way he came, confident that their enemies would follow and that Bebop's cover fire would keep them from frying him with their blasters. The plan was working perfectly.

* * *

While Xever was rarely impressed the by the brainy, nerd types, he had to admit that EDF's pet geeks had gone above and beyond with the molecular saw attachment that they'd added onto his massive butterfly knife. It was sawing through Triceratons beautifully, despite their touch hides.

Balancing on one hand, he could easily eviscerate one reptile while his powered-up, hydraulic robo-legs spun out above him with bone-crushing blows, even against such solid opponents. Very convenient, though he did have to take care not to dent the normally indestructible metal on their unyielding forms.

As his quick attack slowed into a kick-flip back upright, he realized, he'd misjudged its efficacy and had not disabled all of his surrounding opponents. The remaining two led the fresh replacements in mobbing him in the vulnerable moment he regained his footing.

They flung him to the ground hard enough that bursts of light and color exploded across his vision for a few precious seconds, temporarily depriving him sight. The shock of the blow cleared in time for him to see a massive Triceraton fist, drawn back and ready to pound him into fish paste while the others pinned his limbs and torso to the floor.

A slight shift of shadow in the dimly lit environment was all the warning to be had before a massive, skeletal wolf appeared to materialize behind the attacking dinosaur, gripping his head and drilling his horns clear into the skull of his neighboring soldier as talons found and impaled deeply into the softer, vulnerable flesh of the Triceraton's face in between the segments of bone armor.

The shock of the attack caused his captors to loosen their grip and Xever used the opportunity to squirm his slick body and limbs free and whip his lower half back up into a fresh round of fluid, spinning kicks, while he sawed out legs with his knife.

"Showboat." Bradford muttered in his gravelly voice as he snorted in derision.

Xever finished his kick in an arching, whip-like motion that put him back on his feet. "I had everything under control. You can continue to skulk around, crushing the guns of anyone who gets too trigger happy." He responded smoothly in his accented voice as he turned to face the remainder of the unit, approaching with aggressive caution.

"You've played long enough." Bradford stepped back, disappearing into the gloom.

"Spoilsport." Xever grumbled.

Flashing his opponents a rude gesture with his unarmed hand that they probably only comprehended the intent of, he shouted. "Come get me cowards!"

The Fugitoid's translator made the taunt intelligible to them. It worked beautifully. Abandoning caution, they came at him with roaring fury as he launched himself down the hallway ahead of them. Now to lead them to their doom.

* * *

"Come and get it horn heads!" Casey shouted as he blasted a set of Donnie-made, electro-pucks at the advancing Triceraton unit that had followed his line of firecrackers straight to him. The shocks, as each puck hit were only mildly stunning, at least against these guys, and enraged the dino-soldiers rather than slowing them down, which was kind of the point.

"Suck it, losers!" He shouted, letting the translator do its work, while he turned to skate away. The floors of the base were so similar to cement, it actually gave him an edge, unlike trying to move on the slick metal surfaces of Kraang strongholds in the past. Too bad these dudes were a lot less fragile than the squishy pink aliens in their toy suits.

Turning a corner, he rushed into an apparent dead end and spun to face the oncoming assault. The soldiers closed in on him, obviously confident of their victory, when a cloud of blinding powder, specially made for the alien invaders thanks to the Fugitoid's input, blew down from above causing the first line of soldiers to scream and thrash.

Casey shot a pair of explosive pucks into the open mouths of the first two while Alopex dropped down from the ceiling atop the head of the third, front-row dinosaur to bury her kama deep into the base of his skull, severing his spine at the root.

Stepping out from the back of the unit, Angel raised Dr. Lillja's gravity-controlling gauntlet, lifting the dinosaurs-aliens like rag dolls, slamming them violently against the stone walls and each other until the hallway was painted in the gore of their fallen enemies.

Lowering the gauntlet, she surveyed the mess. "Well, that's another set."

Casey leaned sulkily against the wall. "How long do we need to keep doing this?"

Alopex didn't bother looking up as she cleaned her blade. "Until we're notified that everyone else has completed their parts. Stop asking questions you already know the answer to."

Angel smiled. "He's just got his panties in a bunch because he has to play decoy."

Casey scowled. "So what if I do. I'm Casey Jones. I should be on the freaking vanguard."

Both girls shared a knowing look.

"You think you know this vessel better than I?"

They all spun towards what should have been a dead end to see a massive Triceraton soldier step out of the darkness, the sound of sliding stone, indicating a secret door closing behind him.

Casey laughed. "Now we're talking." He skated forward as Alopex readied her kamas and Angel raised her gauntlet.

With one hand, the massive warrior, caught Casey by his metal hockey stick lifting him into the air and using it to swing him towards one of the walls. With the other hand, he fired his readied blaster at Alopex, forcing her into a reflexive dodge that sent her directly between him and Angel.

Instead of catching and throwing the Triceraton back against the wall, Angel got Alopex, hurtling her towards the Triceraton who met her approaching torso with his knee as he smashed Casey into the stone. Casey'd had enough sense to let go of his stick in an attempt to control the fall, but all it did was transform a lethal collision into a debilitating one.

Thrusting his knee forward, the warrior threw Alopex, currently wrapped around his limb, forward towards a stunned Angel, still recovering from the momentary shock of what she'd done. She tried to move, but didn't react quickly enough and Alopex plowed into her chest, knocking her onto her back.

Before she could shove Alopex off of her and raise the gauntlet again, the Triceraton was looming over her, a blaster in one hand poised to burn a hole through both her and Alopex in a single shot, while Casey dangled limply from the other.

Instead of killing her outright, the alien spoke, his deep voice translated by the device affixed to her shoulder. "I commend you for your capable battle tactics up to this point, but I am Zeno Traximus, general of the Triceraton Empire and you cannot defeat me. Surrender humans."

* * *

April flowed along behind Venus and Donnie, making good time to what, if Fugitoid was not mistaken, would be the heart of the fortress. Despite the strain of her communication link, she still managed to expand her psychic senses enough to give advance warning of opponents and obstacles for them to avoid.

There had been an instance here or there where the threat was unavoidable and she'd been forced to rely on a combination of her agility and precognitive flashes to keep herself safe, occasionally telekinetically redirecting the orange laser blasts away when dodging wasn't an option, so that Donnie and Venus didn't need to put themselves at risk defending her. She understood that she was a strategically important asset, but she was still a kunoichi, an achievement that she'd worked hard for, and refused to be babied.

Having studied the Fugitoid's known data on the Triceraton Empire and civilization, Donnie had managed to extrapolate a rough blueprint of the vessel from it and, working from memory, he led the way, at least when she wasn't jumping in to avert something unpleasant.

He was about to make another disastrous turn, when she mentally called out. _Wait! Troops that way._

The last thing she saw was his nod of acknowledgment when everything went burning white as Casey and Alopex's pain simultaneously seared through her via the mental link. She was barely aware of collapsing. Someone distant sounded like they were screaming and very far away should almost hear the tromp of heavy boots, but couldn't bring herself to care. Then it all went dark.


	106. Chapter 105: Teamwork VIII

**Teamwork VIII:**

Everyone funneled out of the forward hatch that was fortunately just inside the enemy ship, which they had both punctured and sealed with their own vessel. A circumstance that could quickly change as the fleet outside closed in on them. Rockwell was not liking their odds as he could actually feel, as a visceral sensation, the encroaching presence of the Malignoid hivemind both from within and without.

"Location."

He stiffened as it registered that the Shredder, no Agent Oroku now, was addressing him. With the press of a few buttons, the levitated disc on which he floated generated holographic schematics that they'd produced based roughly on guess work from Earthen insect models. Nothing matched anything he'd seen so far. Damn. It was too much to ask for that an alien species of bugs would resemble anything they had on Earth. Closing the hologram, he shook his head.

Agent Oroku frowned. "Very well, we will split up into teams and systematically search the ship."

Rockwell was trying to concentrate on Oroku's instructions, but the press of the Malignoid consciousness was an increasingly distracting buzz pressing against his mind. Wait. The hivemind! That was it.

Letting down his mental barriers he opened himself up to their thoughts, buckling under the sheer quantity of them. It was too much for a moment, until he found a place for himself in the existing structure of their collective thought pattern, like a cog in a machine. Rapidly learning their organization, he followed the flow of information until he had a basic layout of their environment and a lead on their goal, or goals as it were.

"You have your orders, now…"

"Wait." He flinched away from Oroku's glare after interrupting, but this justified the breach of conduct.

To his credit, the ex-crime lord restrained himself from making an example of him. "Rockwell." Whether it was a question or merely permission to speak, he wasn't sure and suspected that Oroku had intended it that way.

"I've created a mental link with the Malignoid consciousness." As he spoke, he pulled up a blank holograph, rapidly transforming it into a new, updated schematic. "The Malignoid queen should be located here. But they also have a biochemical communication center here, through which all of their commands and feedback are processed and distributed." He pointed out the locations on the map as he generated it. "Also, the fleet outside is almost on top of us and could breach the wall any moment."

Oroku didn't take long deliberating. "Yoshi, Amaya, Lotus are with me to go after the queen. Mutantimals destroy the communication center. The rest of you hold off the invaders to buy us as much time as possible. We will return to provide support as soon as our objectives are complete."

Those left to defend activated their space suits, a superior model to Earth's previous technology thanks to the Fugitoid's input, much less vulnerable to damage, and tethered themselves where the they could to the walls without being asked. Rockwell was proud of them.

Giving Oroku and Lotus the privacy to say some farewells to their daughter under the guise of last minute instructions, he turned and began guiding the Mutanimals through the network of tunnels to the communication center. Slash still led the team of course, but Rockwell knew where they were going and so took point as he rarely did.

At the edge of his mind, he could feel April maintaining the tenuous link between them. The other team had also landed and was initiating their infiltration. It was the most that could be asked for under the circumstances.

Unfortunately, his link with the Malignoid consciousness ran both ways and they were as aware of him as he was of them. A warning set off alarms in his head and he halted, causing most his following team members to nearly collide with him in an effort to stop. "Defend yourselves! All directions!"

Round iris-like junctions in the walls, ceiling and floor opened releasing enemy warriors, appearing as enormous, winged ant-mantis hybrids, into their midst. He wrapped himself in a psychic cocoon, like an invisible shell as the serrated arms of his attackers broke against the impenetrable surface. Despite the drain his defense was putting on him, he still managed to fling them around, smashing their exoskeletons against each other and the porous walls in explosions of insectoid fluid.

Behind him, Mondo and Pete taunted and dodged while Umeko, Slash and Leatherhead respectively sliced and crushed their enemies to pieces. But the numbers were endless and fatigue was already beginning to set in.

"Keep moving as we fight!" Slash ordered and he pressed forward through the horde. Somehow they needed to make it to the communication center. The Malignoids could not act as an organized, unified force without that functioning.

And so, they continued their slow slog through the self-replenishing onslaught of insect warriors. He lost track of how long it took them to cover the distance, knowing only that they were getting close. Just a little bit further.

Then, as abruptly as they attacked, their enemies vanished, leaving them bloody and exhausted but alone in a narrow, organic hallway. With the attack over, he could now sense what had escaped him with too many demands dividing his attention in different directions.

"Back! Quickly! We need to get out…" Before he could finish or anyone could act on his partially given instructions, the entrance and exit closed and sealed under layers of chitin and thick, slimy membrane. The walls immediately began oozing acidic juices into the chamber, forming a wet layer across the floor.

He and Pete were capable of self-hovering, while Slash pulled Umeko onto his shell and Mondo scrabbled up Leatherhead's back. Slash and Leatherhead had thick skins, but they would eventually succumb to the acid, which, unless he was mistaken was going to fill the chamber whose mucous-lined walls protected it from being harmed by its own secretions. They were trapped.


	107. Chapter 106: Hero Worship VIII

**Hero Worship VIII:**

Shadow sat curled up in a bean bag chair in her room where she'd spent most of the last couple of days. Out in the hallway, she could hear her dad pacing, probably worried over Casey and Angel.

Their last check in had indicated, in as vague as possible of a manner, that something big was going down soon and that they might be out of contact for a bit. Well they were out of contact and unsurprisingly, her dad was freaking out.

But she knew they'd be ok. They were two of the most capable people she knew with allies that had never failed to save the day before. And Senseis Splinter and Amaya were with them. What could possibly stand against that combination? So no, she wasn't worried. Or at least not much. She had other things weighing on her mind.

After reestablishing control over the Dragons and putting them back in the routine of looking out for the innocent citizens in the rougher neighborhoods of the city, she'd retreated home to brood, which should be fine. As far as she knew Keno had everything under control.

Maybe she should have stayed to help, but every time she closed her eyes, she kept seeing Hun go over the railing. He was an evil man. He'd tried to kill her and Keno. He'd been about to kill her dad. She had no choice. And yet, she couldn't stop replaying it over and over in her head.

Despite the bad landing, it hadn't been that far of a drop. He might have survived. Of course, he might not have. That possibility wouldn't leave her alone.

She could try checking with the cops but that would come dangerously close to admitting her less than legal extracurricular activities. Despite the good they did, the Force still frowned on vigilantism.

All she had to do was wait for Donnie to get home and he'd find out for her in a jiffy…whenever he got back. But the time between now and then seemed to stretch out forever. And she couldn't stop thinking about it.

Maybe she should talk to her dad. With his past, he would understand better than anyone. But she wanted him to be proud of her. Would he think less of her if he saw how weak and pathetic she was being? Against her better judgement, she continued choosing not to take that risk.

Her phone rang and she jumped a little. Walt, Zach and Cait had called a lot at first, but when she kept putting them off, they'd finally started giving her some space. It had been a while since she'd heard the ringer and it seemed oddly jarring now.

Picking up the phone, she could see that it was a number she didn't recognize. Donnie had set up her phone privacy. She shouldn't be getting calls from unknown numbers.

Perturbed, she answered. "Who is this?"

An unfamiliar, male voice responded. "That is immaterial. You are an ally of Leonardo Hamato, correct?"

What? How did this guy know about the turtles? They were supposed to be a secret. More or less. There'd been a few incidents here and there where they'd kind of slipped up on the whole ninja secrecy thing. Like with Spider Bytez. And with Joan Grody, who was still sort of on the lookout for them. But they weren't exactly common knowledge and the guy had Leo's full name. Leo who'd been kidnapped.

"You know, Leo? How?"

Unsurprisingly, her mystery caller was not forthcoming. "Also, immaterial. New York is in imminent danger and your assistance is required."

What? Was this a joke? She had no idea how to even respond to that.

Fortunately, he didn't seem to need her to. "A Triceraton strike force has landed in your city and has destroyed the military units stationed there. We will be mobilizing local law enforcement, but they aren't trained for this kind of mission. Based on your association to Leonardo's team, I assume you are. You must stop them and the technology they carry before they can use it to transform the entire city, much as the Kraang attempted to do years ago."

Tricera-what now? Transform the city?

"They appear to be heading towards the One World Trade Center building, likely seeking the highest point to activate their device."

This had to be some kind of crank call. Except with all the weird crap she'd already been through, could she take that chance if it wasn't?

She tried spluttering out a response. "But…"

He didn't give her a chance to say anything. "Time is of the essence. I suggest you get moving."

The line went dead and she stared at her phone in disbelief. Had that really just happened? What should she do?

Step one: stop feeling sorry for herself and get out of her room. Her laptop was in the kitchen. She could look up this so-called invasion and at least confirm if that was a bunch of bull.

Exiting her room, she started for the kitchen when she realized that her dad wasn't pacing anymore. He was staring at the TV.

Changing course, she headed for the living room instead. Her jaw fell open when she saw the screen.

Carlos Chiang O'Brien Gambe, his hair somehow perfectly coiffed despite the circumstances, was crouching behind someone's car, reporting. The camera, while always careful to make sure Carlos was never out of the shot, kept peeking over the hood of the car to catch glimpses of the massive, anthropomorphic dinosaurs in costume space suits arguing over directions, as they blasted the occasional car or business with triangular laser rifles.

Once such blast sent Carlos's cover flying aside, leaving him completely exposed. Letting out a high-pitched shriek, which he paused briefly to calmly remind everyone in the third person that he was reporting live from the scene, he took off running, with the jostling camera following him as he went.

Triceratons. Dinosaur aliens. Not a joke. The Earth was being invaded again. New York was being invaded again. And this time, she had an opportunity to do something about it.

Pulling out her phone, she sent out an 'all hands on deck' emergency, mass text with an address, calling in everyone who was available. At least the shellraiser and party wagon were parked under her building where Donnie had connected the subbasement to the sewers from the last time she'd borrowed them.

"Dad, I'm taking the party wagon and I need you to follow me in the shellraiser."

His eyes snapped from the television to her. "You don't have a license."

She rolled her eyes. "Since you taught me, you know damn well that I can drive. And I won't need a license on the roads we're taking." Without waiting for a response, she started for the door.

After a moment's pause, he followed, calling out. "Watch your language!"

* * *

Keno tapped his foot impatiently as he waited in a dead-end alley, crammed full of cars and motorcycles from every available Dragon. It was a pretty good turnout on such short notice, but given recent events, he had a pretty good idea why Shadow had called them into action and it was better to be doing something than cowering and freaking out.

Irma was at his side as there was no way he was leaving her alone at a time like this, strangely calm and determined despite the crazy invasion going on…again. Maybe something had happened to her during the Kraang invasion that had tempered her for this sort of thing. He'd have to ask when there was time, though instinct told him to proceed with caution.

And across from him Walt, Zach and Cait milled about, looking unsure of what they were doing there. Except for Zach, dressed up in homemade armor from sporting gear. He almost looked eager. They weren't exactly fighters though. He hoped Shadow knew what she was doing.

Most the Dragons jumped back, letting out shouts of alarm as the back wall of the alley suddenly opened and Shadow stepped through. Her voice rang out loudly in the crowded space. "For anyone that arrived on foot or bike, we've got some vehicles you can fill into. Otherwise catch a ride and follow along."

As everyone hurried to their conveyance of choice, he saw Walt, Zach and Cait, along with a few Dragons pile into the custom van with Shadow. He, Irma and a couple other Dragons jumped into refurbished subway car with Shad's dad. He'd been wondering how she planned to get through the panicked gridlock that the streets had turned into. Now he knew.

As the caravan roared through the abandoned subway tunnels, he turned to Shad's dad. "Any idea what she's planning?"

Mr. Jones shrugged with a smile. "Saving the city from aliens. What else?"


End file.
